The Legacy of Sparda
by greenkitsune
Summary: Meet Sparda's grandchildren...Raised human, they were kept away from their history and the demonic world. But as an old enemy arises in a new form and their powers begin to awaken, Vergil may no longer be able to protect them from their bloody legacy. Rating will change.
1. Chapter 1

_**I do not own Devil May Cry or any of the stories, characters, plots, locations, etc. thereof. **_

_**Yay! I'm back. Sorry it took so long. This is apparently a trilogy. For more background on the characters, please visit my other stories Devil's Sins and Devil's Child. **_

_**Let me know what you think. I love reviews.**_

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><p>Yamato's blade cut deep into the shoulder of the demon, sending out a spray of dark green blood. The horned demon grunted and fell to the ground, struggling to rise on its four insect-like legs. Vergil landed easily behind and placed the tip of the blade at the base of the demon's skull and rammed it through. The demon gagged as the blade entered through its throat and out its mouth before twitching and remaining still. With one smooth motion, Vergil removed the blade, flicked the blood away, and sheathed it.<p>

"A little excessive don't you think?" Dante said.

Vergil turned towards his brother's smirking face.

"It was the quickest way to dispatch it," Vergil responded.

"The demon hardly put up a fight. Are you angry about something?" Dante pressed.

"No."

"Not enough sex? Kids driving you insane?"

"No."

"Bored?"

Vergil glared at Dante whose smirk and widened into a large grin. Dante began whistling and turned to head out of the abandoned house. Vergil followed.

"I can't say I blame you, Verg. Things just aren't that exciting since the Puppet Maker. I swear the underworld has been slacking. I mean, how hard is it to try and cause the apocalypse? I know you miss the thrill of the hunt. The near death experience," Dante declared with sweeping gestures.

"Home is exciting enough," Vergil replied, but his mind traveled back to his previous conquests and the powerful demons he had destroyed. His fingers ached to use Yamato to its full potential. To feel the power as he barely defeated his worthy foe.

"Yeah, well fighting off your daughter's future boyfriends will be very exciting. She's going to be a bombshell in a few years," Dante said.

"She's your niece," Vergil snapped.

"I'm just warning you," Dante said, putting his hands up.

Vergil's pocket began to vibrate. He fumbled with the cell phone Evangeline had demanded he carry. Snapping it open, he raised the dreaded device to his ear.

There was a crash in the background and a scream.

"Get home now!" Evangeline said and hung up.

Vergil bolted down the street in the direction of home, leaving Dante shouting for an explanation. His heart thudded as he ran the miles to home, and he wondered if this were the day they were finally found. The image of his mother's face floated into his mind.

Vergil arrived at the door. All the lights were on in the house, a brick colonial after Evangeline had decided it would be more secure against demons despite his insistence that an extra fifty thousand does not buy security against the underworld. He listened, but no noise came from inside. He held a sheathed Yamato in one hand and quickly burst through the door and onto three pairs of shocked eyes.

"Geez, dad," Caleb said from the couch, his brother Gabriel at his side. The boys were a splitting image of each other, right down the sheepish looks on their faces. Moreover, they were a near exact replica of him and Dante at that age. White hair, blue eyes, and what Vergil came to realize, entirely too much confidence in themselves which caused continuous battles between the two boys. Evangeline could easily tell the difference, but dressed one in green and the other in blue for the sake of everyone else.

"Why do you have a sword?" Gabriel asked.

Vergil looked down at Yamato and hid it slightly behind his leg, realizing he hadn't taken the time to remove the demon blood that had spattered onto his pants.

"A client wanted to see it," Vergil said quickly.

Evangeline raised an eyebrow towards Vergil. Her red hair was pulled back and she was dressed in a black leotard a loose skirt, having clearly just arrived from teaching a dance class. Her anger-filled green eyes appeared normal and without their demonic essence from the aid a small ring charm Trish had created for her.

"Where's the fire, dear?" Evangeline asked through clenched teeth.

"It sounded urgent," he said calmly. "What's the matter…dear?"

"These two," Evangeline said, grabbing the two boys by the ears. "Decided it would be okay to beat the living daylights out of each other with baseball bats and they won't apologize for it."

"He started it," Gabriel said, tugging on the sleeve of his green shirt.

"I know he started it. He always starts it, but you decided to continue it," Evangeline said, releasing their ears. "And I had to cut a lesson short because the neighbors thought there someone being murdered."

"Well if Gabe would have just let me show him my cool new wrestling move, I wouldn't have had to hit him," Caleb snapped.

"Yeah, you wanted to use it on me!"

"Shut up!"

Caleb reached for Gabriel and grabbed his collar as Gabriel slapped at his brother's arm. Suddenly they were locked together in a grapple and screaming.

"Boys, stop it!" Evangeline yelled and tried to pull them apart.

Vergil walked over and calmly plucked Caleb from his brother and held him in the air by his armpits. The boys' eyes grew wide at this display and Gabriel slinked over to the couch. Vergil set Caleb down and leveled his eyes with him.

"Apologize to your mother and your brother," he said coldly.

Caleb gulped and mumbled his apologies. Vergil's gaze landed on Gabriel who lowered his eyes.

"Sorry," he said.

"Go to bed," Vergil said and the twins scurried up the stairs.

Evangeline huffed and fell into the couch.

"Way to make an entrance," she said, leaning her head back. She quickly sat up.

"You know they don't even listen to me. I'm not scary enough. The only thing that will get them to stop is you. They practically pee their pants when I call you. They're almost fourteen and they have no control over themselves. And put the sword away. I don't want them seeing it," she said, rubbing her temples.

"I thought there was a de…you know what," he said.

"Yeah, there were devils and they're your sons," she replied.

"As I recall, you participated in the act."

She leaned forward. "As I recall, you were the one who said you wanted more kids. Persephone's getting to be her own handful."

Vergil left Evangeline to fume and walked up the stairs. He stopped by Gabriel's door and listened. He could hear the two boys whispering to each other. They had never shared a room, but they often snuck in through the adjoining bathroom. He and Dante had done the same thing: fight and then quickly rebound into being best friends until the next squabble. Vergil knocked on the door.

"Bed," he said in a low voice and suddenly scrambling feet ran through the bathroom and into the next room.

Two doors down from Gabriel's room was Persephone's, covered with various tests and papers she had received A's on. He pushed open the door and peered inside to a dark room. He felt a slight unease at her tardiness. The hallway turned sharply to the left to the master bedroom on the right and a locked study at the end of the hallway. He entered his bedroom and set Yamato on the display hooks against the wall. Evangeline appeared in the doorway as he was removing his coat and blood stained pants.

"How was the _client_," she said, closing the door behind her.

"Successfully dispatched," he replied. "There was another job, but Dante can presumably handle it."

"Sorry I worried you," she said and wrapped her arms around his chest from behind. "But I'm glad you're home early."

The feeling of her warm flesh sent a shock of desire through his system. The moment was lost when the front door suddenly slammed and a set of footstep went stomping up the stairs.

Evangeline quickly opened the door and stuck her head out. Persephone walked down the hall and to her bedroom, only glancing at her mother. She was tall and stick-thin, her lack of curves being a sore spot for the young girl. She held her curly white hair back with a hair tie and wore no makeup on her pale skin. Her face was angular and severe like Evangeline's, with an icy blue stare that could cut to the bone.

"Where were you?" Evangeline asked.

Persephone sighed loudly. "I was at show choir practice. It went late because gymnastics ran late because we were practicing for the meet next week."

Evangeline scowled at her daughter's annoyed face and apparent attitude. Vergil listened with some amusement to the exchange as he took off his shirt and pulled on a pair of sweatpants.

"I didn't see you at the studio."

"My god, mom! I told you I was at gymnastics. I can't go to dance everyday. I bet Gabe and Cal didn't go," she snapped.

"What is with this new attitude? It stinks. Why start your teenage angst now?" Evangeline said, stepping out of the room with her arms crossed.

"Whatever, mom. I don't have an attitude," Persephone said as she slammed her bedroom door shut.

Evangeline stormed into the room and locked the door behind her. She stared at Vergil who only climbed into bed.

"Can you believe that? She's never acted like that before. She was always such a good girl and now she has PMS everyday," she said.

"She's part devil," Vergil said.

"She's not going to devil trigger, she's just acting like a sixteen-year-old girl which is a lot like a demon," Evangeline growled, tearing off the leotard and tights.

"I think she's awakening," Vergil said. "It's probably time to tell her before it's too late and she rips her brother's throat out."

Evangeline's head snapped towards Vergil and he met her angry gaze.

"No. We promised each other that if they didn't show any signs, we wouldn't tell them. Can you imagine trying to explain that you hunt devils for a living? If they never trigger then they don't have to worry about it," she said and grabbed a nightgown from the dresser, slipping it over her head.

"You're being naïve," Vergil said, a scowl appearing on his brow. He hated this exchange, and it only happened more often as the children got older. They couldn't continue to hide it. Somehow they would find out.

Evangeline climbed into the bed next to him.

"They're mostly human so let them be human. I want to spare my children the nightmare we went through," she shot back. Despite his sympathy, he knew nightmares were inescapable for Sparda's children.

It wasn't always their plan to keep it from them. They had tried for a while after Vergil returned to raise Persephone openly with his devil hunting. He had even envisioned training her one day, coming up with a detail schedule for when she turned six and contemplated one day handing over Yamato to her.

When Persephone was old enough, Evangeline joined him and the others on the hunt, tracking down the invisible traces they couldn't see. At first, the occasional demon bursting through the doors of Devil May Cry didn't bother her as Persephone was always in the company of someone else. Then Vergil and Evangeline barely made it to the babysitter's house in time to save the teenage girl and their child. The front door was shattered to splinters when they arrived. The girl was screaming, Persephone was crying, and the skeleton-like demon was hovering over the closet the babysitter had locked herself and the baby in. Vergil quickly dispatched the demon and Evangeline tried to reassure the babysitter that it was just a man. Later, he remembered hearing the young lady had a mental breakdown and ended up in the asylum.

Persephone had nightmares every night after that day. He remembered opening the door to the babysitter clutching Persephone tightly, bewildered more than terrified. However, Persephone's face was a mask of horror only a child could summon. She was frightened and truly did not understand except for some instinctual part of her that knew she was going to die.

His heart had never broken until that moment. The nightmares kept her from sleeping through the night, exhausting Evangeline until she was at the end of her rope. Then one fateful night, Evangeline threw up after dinner and stormed out with Trish on tow only to return with the announcement of her pregnancy.

Evangeline had looked around the room of Devil May Cry; the walls were riddled with bullet holes from a recent fight and the door barely hung on its splintered hinges. She told Vergil she wasn't going to raise her children like this and that they would never to have nightmares again. If he didn't like it, he could do some form of an explicit act and see her in court.

He didn't have the heart to fight his pregnant wife. She was tired and constantly worrying over vaccinations and raising Persephone right. Worrying that if illiteracy didn't get her than a demon would. Compound the worry with the expectation of (what they thought then) was another child after nearly dying for the first, he was fairly certain the wild look in her eyes was actually a nervous breakdown.

So he said yes, moved his family into a new house and became a "consultant." His dream of his warrior offspring taking up arms as he had was shattered. Persephone would become what? Last time he spoke with her she was taking Chinese and debate to become an ambassador. As much as he wanted to raise a devil hunter, it was strangely apt she would defeat her enemies in political battle. The one debate competition he had attended, Persephone made the opposing young man cry.

And Gabriel and Caleb? Gabriel would probably spend his life as a poor scholar with his noise in a book and Caleb would end up in jail several times before becoming a drifter. If Vergil hadn't been there for the conception, he would have sworn Caleb was Dante's.

Part devil and his children would be utterly human. No glory, no pride, no history of a great hero, just fragile bones and average aspirations. A broken legacy which made him want to tear away their human lives to show them the power in their blood.

"I'm right," he said.

"You always think you're right."

"I am always right."

She smacked him with the pillow and he glowered at her. Three children had done nothing to soften his stoic, marble face. He watched her settle into the pillows and was suddenly irritated by her normal features.

"Take the charm off," he said.

She smirked. "Oh, baby. I can never turn my charm off."

He didn't respond.

"Dante thinks I'm funny," Evangeline grumbled and removed the ring, setting it on the nightstand.

The illusion vanished and the brown demonic essence became visible on the whites of her eyes. The green of her irises stood out like lasers against it. He watched it shift and move, taking on a life of its own. He always thought it suited her better. They could pretend, but they would never be completely human. His hand fell to the scars that crept onto her shoulders. The smooth ridges were always hidden beneath clothing or a shawl, but he always knew they were there. A constant reminder of what she had survived and what made her all the more irresistible.

Completely oblivious, Evangeline yawned and lay down with her back to Vergil. He traced the scars with his fingertips, stopping at her hip. She tensed briefly, and he smirked with self-satisfaction.

"Vergil. What are you doing?" she sighed.

"Getting what I want," he said, and kissed her shoulder lightly.

She rolled onto her back and gave him a withering look.

"I'm tired and I have to take the kids to school in the morning," she said, frowning. "You don't always get what you want."

"It's been weeks. I'm not very patient."

Her body was flushed with warmth. He loved and despised these battles of will. She was difficult and stubborn prey to catch and he delighted in the chase. Unfortunately, she was occasionally clever enough to outwit him.

"Think of the children. Persephone's still awake," Evangeline said, placing her hand on his chest.

"That's precisely what I'm not going to do. She's probably listening to her music and studying," he said, his voice low. He drew her closer to him, his hand finding the round curve of her thigh.

Evangeline smirked beneath half-lidded eyes and rolled back over to his chagrin. He glared at her back, and she didn't balk from his gaze.

"Are you done?" she asked.

"Admit you want it," he said in a low voice.

Evangeline planted her soft, thin lips on his cheek and rolled back over. He felt a tingle run down his spine. Sliding beneath the covers, he wrapped one strong arm around her waist. He felt her smirk.

"I win," she whispered.

_Dammit._

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><em>

The yogurt was sweet, almost too sweet with the crunch of cinnamon granola. The kitchen was warm with the smells of breakfast, brightly lit by the morning sun. Dirty dishes and eggshells littered the counter, as they usual did in the morning. Persephone watched her mother warily as she busied herself washing the pan she had fried eggs in. Her eyes swung over to her brothers who squabbled quietly, poking at each other's breakfast plates. She wrinkled her nose at her younger siblings before returning her gaze to her mother. Her mother pursed her lips as she vigorously worked the sponge over the pan, her red curls bobbing in time with her arm.

Persephone was suspicious and it grew more and more each day.

_She's too young,_ she thought. Her mother's driver's license said forty, but she didn't look a day past twenty-five. Even if she lied and had Persephone in her teens, she should still look older. Her father too was apparently past forty but remained eerily young. The suspicious thoughts had only recently surfaced, having never noticed anything off about her parents before. Somehow, things weren't settling right with her like too rich food.

Things didn't add up. Her mother barely made enough money, but they attended one of the best private schools. Her father's "consultant" job which somehow gave him sway over the principle whenever Caleb got into fight. Above all, she couldn't shake the feeling she never really knew her parents, who they were, and why. Grandma and grandpa were suspiciously missing with the only the vague "grandpa was a shoemaker" from her mother which resulted in a sharp glare from her father when she was ten. No internet searches yielded any results because Sparda didn't seem to exist and her parents dodged every question. Secrets seemed to linger in the air like a ripe stench.

_You can't hide it forever, _she thought.

She hadn't always felt this way. Everything was perfect in her life; she was good student, excelled at all her activities, and had good friends despite her busy schedule. But in the past few months she had grown angry, practically falling to blows with anyone who confronted her and feeling a smug satisfaction with it. Rage would bubble up in her chest, filling her body until she felt like her skin would turn inside out. Now, it was directed towards her parents.

Rage hit her belly with a sharp sting. They weren't getting away with it anymore. She was going to find out.

Persephone breathed out sharply to quell her feelings as her vision began to swim. She put down her spoon.

"Mom, I need to stay at school late to practice for competition," she lied. No one ever questioned her being at the school gym late. There was always somebody there practicing for over achievement and it was usual her.

Her mother stopped scrubbing and looked up.

"But it's family game night. Your uncle with be here," she said.

"Sephie hates us now. You know because she's been a huge bitch lately," Caleb said, flinging some egg at her, his blue eyes dancing.

"No, just you," Persephone snarled, flicking the egg off the plaid skirt of her school uniform.

"Good God, Caleb. I'll slap you if I hear that language again," her mother snapped. "I'm not raising a second Dante. Persephone, you never needed to practice so much before."

Her mother rinsed the black pan, setting it in the drying rack.

"It's a hard piece," she replied.

"What's the music?"

Persephone shrugged her thin shoulders. "Some indie band no one has ever heard of. You probably don't know."

"Hipster much?" Caleb laughed. "Mom's so underground she's in China."

"You're certainly trying to get on my good side after yesterday," their mother said, crossing her arms with a wry smile.

Caleb grinned sheepishly. Gabe looked at his twin with his soulful eyes that Persephone always thought made him look years older.

"I'm sorry about that, mom," Gabe said quietly.

"I know you are, sweetie. That's why you're my favorite."

Caleb did a mock gasp of shock and Persephone grinned slightly at the exchange.

"You're just left out, aren't you Cal? Since I'm dad's favorite," Persephone said sweetly.

"After how you spoke to your mother last night, I wouldn't be so sure," a low voice rumbled.

Caleb, Gabriel, and Persephone looked at their father in shock. It was a rare sight to see him in the morning light.

"Hey, dad," Gabriel said as he walked in.

"Did you get fire?" Persephone asked, a slight pit in her stomach when she remembered her exchange with her mother.

"I was home early." He lowered his identical blue eyes to hers. "Do we need to have a talk?"

She shook her head, her heart battling between rage and the twinge of fear. Her father stared for a moment longer before straightening.

"She's going to miss family game night," her mother said.

"Can I miss family game night?" her father asked.

Her mother glared as the corner of her father's lip curled up in one of their silent exchanges. Persephone imagined this one involved some cursing. Just then, the front door slammed open and her father's slightly heavier and stubbly mirror image stepped in.

"Hey, Uncle Dante. Why are you here?" Caleb called.

Dante ruffled the twin's hair as her father glared daggers.

"You're supposed to knock," he said coldly.

"Lighten up, I'm family. Besides, it's an emergency," he turned towards her mother. "So Lady and I broke up again and she's really mad. Some crap about me being immature, yadda yadda yadda…."

"What do you want me to about it? This is the second time this month. Just marry her already."

A sharp ring sounded through the room and her mother picked up the phone from its place on the counter.

"Hello?" Pause. "Hi, Lady…. He did what?...Yes, I know he is an ass hole, maybe you should leave him for good…Yes, I know I got the good twin. Listen, I'll call you back later; the kids have to go to school."

Hands waving, her mother motioned towards the door. Persephone stood up and retrieved her duffle from the hook by the front door and placed it on her should as Caleb scrambled to find his homework, Gabriel tried to help, and her mother screamed. Persephone growled and tapped her foot impatiently. Her father walked up next to her, moving like a shadow in his black clothes. It was unnervingly fluid.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes softening around the edges.

"I'm find, dad," she sighed.

"You seem angry," he said pointedly. For a moment, she wondered if she should tell him that sometimes she felt so overwhelmed with wrath she thought she may lose control. He never blinked at anything, but somehow she thought better of telling him.

"I'm fine, just stressed at school."

His eyes narrowed at her and she knew he knew she was lying, but he said nothing as her brothers stampeded towards the door. Her father quickly kissed her forehead and opened the door for them. Persephone felt almost guilty lying about practice, but she needed answers and knew the best place to find them was at the library and not the gymnastic mats.

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Pieces of paper, tossed up by the cold wind floated by as the blonde woman walked slowly towards the squat brick building. Only a single tattered metal door led into the unit. From it, loud music emanated, softened by the layers of the walls. She stared over her glasses and checked the address written on the scrap of paper in her hand. She shoved the address back into the pocket of her long, black coat and started towards the door, the fall air gently lifting her hair across her face. Her face was thin and long, punctuated by a sharp, slightly upturned nose. Skin as smooth and as polished as stone stretched across it with only the mar of a single red, perfectly round birthmark the size of a pea in the middle of her forehead. The deep crimson mark stared eternally outward like a third eye.

She pressed her hand against the door and it opened with a low groan of protest. Inside was a narrow dark hallway that led to an illuminated door at the end. The air was musty and the music grew louder as she walked silently down the hall. She slowly opened the final door and stepped through.

Five pairs of eyes shot up as she entered. They were all young, two females and three males, and all reached for various weapons upon seeing her. The five youths were gathered around a beat up table covered in cards. The woman eyed their mismatched clothes of leather, denim, and cotton. A child's idea of what urban outlaws should wear.

A black haired young man stood up and stepped forward; his heavy black boots echoing through the concrete room.

"Can we help you?" he asked with a voice full of swagger.

"Are you the Devil's Bane?" she asked. A ridiculous name and question; she knew it was them.

"Sure, what do you want to do about it?"

She kept her face clear of any emotion. "I have a job. A group of devils in Central City."

The group immediately perked up and the black haired youth was suddenly all business.

"What have they done?"

"I don't know what their end game is," she said, removing an envelope from her pocket. The youth took it and flipped through the photos inside.

"Two of them are attacking other people, mostly mob members. They're posing as a family with a few humans helping them, probably cult members."

"They look like kids."

"They're not. I'm afraid of what they might do at the school they're attending. I've tracked them for a while and they are definitely not human," she said.

He narrowed his eyes. "So what do you want us to do?"

She smiled. _I have you, so young and stupid. _

"All together, they're overwhelming. I need you to take care of the younger one's who are obviously weaker. But you need to be cautious about it. The older devils are not to be trifled with."

"What are we going to do about them?"

She grinned and straightened her glasses. "Leave them to me. The family is going by the name of Sparda. I guess they fancy themselves that powerful. All the info is in the envelope including my card. I'll pay you when the job is complete."

"How do I know I can trust you?"

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a stack of hundred dollar bills and handed them to the young man.

"I'm good for it and I heard you were the best. It will be better if you're subtle about it. Take the time to catch them off guard. You'll know when I draw the adults away. Call me if you run into any problems."

She turned her back to him and started walking. The young man grabbed her shoulder and spun her, holding a red sphere the size of a marble to her face. He glared at it before tucking it into his pocket with a smile. She had seen the spheres before and had expected it.

"Sorry, you never know who might be a devil," he said and held out his hand. "Mark."

She shook it, matching his grin. "I understand. My name is Mara."

With that, she continued on her way out the door. As she walked done the hallway, she whistled softly to herself. Outside, she hurried from the building and into an alley. Leaning against the wall, she closed her eyes as her forehead began to tingle. She felt her soul slip away and saw three pulsing, red orbs in her mind's eye. Power washed over her, and she felt the hair rise on her body.

"They agreed to it, father," she said.

She felt the words more that she heard them as they pounded through her mind.

**Good. See to it that everything is in order in the citadel. They will fail this time.**

"It will be done," she said, suddenly speaking with her own mouth, the wall cold against her back. She continued down the alley towards a waiting car. Mara hated feeling so human after speaking with him. Even killing her parents never fixed it, but it wouldn't be long before she would never feel weak again.

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><p><strong><em>Whoot! First chapter. Please review. Constructive criticism is welcome. Peace!<em>**


	2. Chapter 2: Risk

**_Sorry this took so long. Life tends to get in the way of things. Anyway, I thought the best apology would be a new chapter. I do not own Devil May Cry or any of its characters, plots, locations, stories, etc. _**

_**Enjoy! RR**_

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><p>Persephone looked past the crowds of students mingling in the quad to her brothers lingering at the fountain. Nose in his book, Gabriel occasionally glanced up and grinned at Caleb who was roughly joking with a group of their friends, giving friendly shoves as they through barbs at one another. She took a bite of her sandwich just as Caleb caught her gaze. A gush of jelly fell down her chin and she scrambled for her napkin. Wiping off her face, she looked up at her brother who laughed and mouthed <em>want a bib?<em> She scoffed, stuck her tongue out at him, and put her sandwich down. In her lap was a thick book on Chinese history. Tucked into the pages were sheets of internet searches she printed off from the library, each with the subject of _Sparda_. Turning over the pages carefully, Persephone slowly read the hits of her search. Letters and words blended together becoming a senseless alphabet jumble of useless information. She pursed her lips as annoyance gnawed at her belly.

"What are you doing?"

Her eyes snapped from the pages as a young girl quickly slid next her with a crooked smile. She had a broad nose set in a wide, friendly face with brown eyes framed by soft brown hair. A faint scar stretched down her jaw; an old scar from gymnastics.

"Studying," Persephone stated flatly to Jane.

"I see Chinese is suddenly a Google search."

"I didn't say I was studying Chinese," she replied and waved the papers at her.

Jane raised an eyebrow and followed the dancing papers as they wiggled in front of her face.

"Why are you researching your last name?"

"I'm researching my dad, but all I am finding are crappy fantasy websites and some obscure legend mumbo jumbo," Persephone sighed and closed the pages in her Chinese textbook.

"Mmm, the most important thing about your dad is that he's hot," Jane grinned.

"Do you always have to bring that up?"

"Yes. If your mom ever gets out of the picture, I am so there. Or, if he needs a younger woman…"

Persephone rolled her eyes. "Please stop. My temper hasn't been very good lately."

"I know. Can you be any more bitchy? Serena was off by half a step. Hardly a crime warranting being chewed a new one."

Persephone buried her face in her hands. "I know. I feel bad, but I can't help myself. I swear there's a little monster inside of me just begging to eat someone."

"Well, PMS is a monster. Anyway, want to practice before family game night. Unless you want to invite me because I could settle for your uncle," she said with a sly grin.

"Eww, please stop or I'll be chewing you a new one. And no, I'm skipping practice."

"For what?"

"The library. They have the old microfilms hooked up to their catalogs," Persephone said as she stood and gathered her lunch.

"You're crazy."

"Maybe, but they're hiding something and I am done being stuck in the dark," she said, clenching her jaw.

"Careful of the pomegranates," Jane said solemnly.

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After the clutter and noise of the usual morning routine (and after Dante had been shoved out the door), Vergil smiled in the silence. He lay down on the couch with Yamato at his side, watching the pale morning light change to the deep glow of afternoon. His family slipped from his thoughts as prospect of the kill he could have tonight replaced them, causing his fingers to itch with anticipation. He felt eighteen again: alone and in charge of his life. He could taste his nightly cognac, the chill on the wind as he wondered the city, and the smell of cigarettes on Evangeline. Vergil watched his body change in a flash of blue light and saw the world anew as a devil. Devils had no family, no worry, nothing stopping their desires.

Then the phone rang. He let it go to voicemail then suddenly turned human as a voice floated over the speakers.

"Vergil, I know you're there and ignoring me. Just pull out two pounds of ground beef from the freezer for dinner. Try to do something other than lie on the couch."

Beep. Message ended.

He growled and stood up, taking Yamato with him to the kitchen. The cold hardly chilled his skin as he reached into the freezer and grabbed the meat wrapped in plastic. With a disgusted noise, he threw it onto the counter and glowered at the frozen cow. The kitchen suddenly seemed alien, making his skin crawl. Quickly, he retreated up the stairs, past the foreign rooms, and to the end of the hallway. He placed his hand on the door knob and muttered a string of syllables. The red glow that barred the door and protected the lock, dissipated and he stepped inside the musty, dark room.

It was a haven, a separate world from the rest of the house and forbidden to the children. Books and scrolls of various ages and some in the demonic languages, lined every inch of shelf and covered the table. Next to the table were worn, red seats and behind them sat demonic artifacts and various weapons mounted on the wall. In the room, he stripped down to his various essence without fear. It was the one room that wasn't filled to the ceiling with lies.

He sighed and melted into one of the chairs. On the table was a "factual" biography off Sparda written by a historian of legends. He found human accounts of his father to be fascinating; they never knew he lived the last years of his life as a doting father of twin boys. Their theories of his death were even more amusing as they struggled for explanations of his "disappearance" without ever truly believing he was real. Not even Vergil knew what happened. He simply remembered his father leaving and never returning as his mother cried. As he passed the time with reading, the sun dipped closer to the earth.

_Though the general consensus is that Sparda simply disappeared to die, possibly to enforce the legend that he may return in times of need (similar to other mythic figures), it is my opinion that Sparda hid his final resting place to protect an item of great value and to protect his identity. Believers relied on the idea that he was not human, but something unearthly. Several rumors circulate amongst those who still pass on the legend, that his grave may be hidden in the Northeast and protects a powerful weapon…._

Vergil's head shot up as he heard a voice behind the door and the creak of wood. Evangeline opened the door just enough to slide through and quickly closed it. Her hair was pulled back, and he noted she had changed into a pair of loose jeans and a black t-shirt. For a moment, she looked as she had when they first met.

She smiled.

"What are you reading?"

"A book."

"Well, it's not a steak." She stepped forward and a pile of maps crinkled under her barefoot. "I thought I had picked these up last week?"

"It wasn't me," Vergil said, pretending to return to his book.

He heard Evangeline sigh.

"I get it, you know. You're a devil hunter. It's in your blood, in your legacy, and you want to share it. Every parent wants their child to follow in their footsteps. Except maybe me, I wasn't as cool as you and I heard drug addict children are hard to deal with."

"You want to be human, and you want them to be too," he said without looking up.

"You think I want to be some perfect private school mother who goes to parent teacher conferences, forces her children into extracurriculars, and hosts book clubs? I'm going to be young forever. I want to run around with you, dance in dingy bars, get piss ass drunk, and have a cigarette after sex." Evangeline gently hooked her finger on the book and pulled it down to see his eyes. "But we chose her and I regret nothing, and I sure as hell know you wouldn't trade her for all the enemies you can kill. However, I do regret the cigarettes."

With a flourish she pulled out a single cigarette and deftly lit in one smooth motion.

"I thought you quit?" he asked.

She gave him a sly smile. "The kids are gone."

As Evangeline slipped out the door, he caught a whiff of smoke and their late nights came rushing back; her green eyes peering through the darkness. He quickly put down the book and rushed out, feeling heat seep through his body. Evangeline stood in the middle of the bedroom, the cigarette's ember casting shadows across her face as it hung lazily from her fingers. She brought it to her lips and inhaled deeply, letting the smoke slip slowly between them.

He snatched the snub from her fingers and crushed it in his hand. Nicotine hung heavy on her lips as he kissed her deeply. Lust surged through him and he pressed their bodies close, feeling the release of pent up urges. Roughly, he grabbed her hips and lifted her onto the dresser, sending items tumbling to the floor and rattling the mirror….

"Hey, mom. Are we all out of snacks?" Cal pronounced loudly as he swung open the door. Gabe blushed behind his brother as Cal's face turned into a mask of horror. Vergil wondered briefly if there was a demon in the room with his son's reaction.

"Oh my god! Geez, you have children! Couldn't you do that someplace else?" he said, shielding his eyes.

"Boy," Vergil growled.

They rushed away, talking hurriedly to each other.

"That's what you get for not knocking," Evangeline called after them. She turned back towards Vergil. "We should stop."

"They went to school. They know how they got here."

He closed the door.

##############################################

Persephone's eyes blurred, her shoulders ached, and her heart pounded with confusion as she slid the copied new articles into a folder with shaky hands. She took a moment to gather herself before heading out of the dark library, not wanting the librarian to look at her suspiciously. Her mother was easy enough to find after fishing her memory for her maiden name. What appeared out of the list of news articles was a missing person's report and several articles relaying the mysterious deaths of her mother's brother and mother: both members of a local cult. No suspects were found and no articles surfaced of her mother's return.

Her father proved to be more difficult as she traced him from Uncle Dante's juvenile arrest record for several hours. He existed in one place, in an article reporting a home invasion where only one twin boy survived the death of his mother and brother. No pictures were provided. Only the mention of the name, Sparda.

Crisp winds blew through the streets as Persephone slowly made her way home with her books clutched to her chest and a warm spot on her back where her bag rested. The words from the articles repeated themselves in her head like a favorite poem as she tried to piece together what they ultimately meant for her parents and who they were. What it truly meant for who she was. At the beginning of her search she expected to find something sordid and distasteful, perhaps an embarrassing legal situation or family troubles. Instead, she unearthed a confusing jumble of facts about a man and a woman who should be dead. They were hiding something she had never thought of.

Like a river, theories and speculations churned in her head until she was drowning in them. Swept away by the current, she was washed ashore by her mailbox at the edge of the driveway where she had learned to ride a bike. She felt like she was fighting for air, unsure of how to even step into the house she had grown up in. Should she say something or keep quiet? Will they somehow know that she knows something? She could never keep anything from her father from long.

Lights illuminated the living room windows where shadows shifted behind the gauzy curtains. Warm noises floated to her, tinged with laughter. _They lied_, she thought and the lights from the house became cold and the laughter became shards of glass against her ears. With a deep breath, she steadily walked towards the door and quickly opened it before her nerves fled her.

Persephone stepped inside the foyer and into the living room to her right. Dante leapt off the and shouted in victory, sending a few of the plastic soldiers skittering across the game board. Cal scowled at the game as Gabe smiled thoughtfully from the floor. On the couch parallel to the coffee table, her father leaned back with a stony face. Across from him, sat her mother and Aunt Trish with their backs to her, their locks bouncing as they laughed.

They looked so normal: a perfectly happy family.

Dante pointed to her.

"Hey, little bean. What's shake'n?"

Persephone stared at him, jaw slack with unformed words. What could she possibly say to them? She felt split in half; one part wanting to run and the other wanting to scream. Her father stared at her silently, examining her in that unusually intuitive way of his.

"Sweetie, are you alright?" her mother asked, beginning to stand.

"I'm just tired," she said softly, a lump in her throat.

_If you touch me, I'll scream. _

"We talked about pushing yourself too hard." She patted the couch next to her. "You want to sit down? I'll make you a quick something."

_We also talked about lying_. The realization made her angry and a sudden pang went through her stomach as her muscles tensed. She fought back the scream rising to her throat from the depths of her belly. It was almost too painful to keep in with the rage stabbing at her torso, turning her vision red.

She didn't notice her father walking to her side.

"Persephone," he said, voice low.

"I'm fine, just tired. I need to go to bed," she exhaled.

"Okay. I'll check on you later," her mother said.

Her father gave her a lingering look with an icy stare that followed her into the hallway. He always knew something was off and never bothered to hide it. Persephone walked slowly to not give anything away, but her knees wanted to buckle on the stairs. Inside her room, she dropped her bag and closed the door behind her. Her instincts raged inside of her, demanding she scream, kick, and slam her fists into the walls. Tear her room apart and cry out at them when they found her.

But it hurt so much. The stabbing in her stomach knocked the wind out of her and pounded like hammers against her skull. It burned like a knife wound, and she doubled over, clutching her torso. Futilely, she tried to control her breathing only to push the air from her lungs as the pain increased and she groaned.

_They lied to you. How dare they do that! You could hurt them so easily…._

"Oh, god," she whimpered.

Mustering her strength, she reached under her shirt to feel for the cause of her pain and felt hot skin. She lifted her shirt and looked down. Across her stomach was a large patch of blue and red, like an ugly bruise. Her breath came out in short bursts of panic as she touched the skin that was raised like a welt and rough like dry, scaly skin.

"What's going on?" she hissed through clenched teeth.

Clutching her sheets, she pulled herself onto her bed and curled into the fetal position. Her anger against her parents subsided as the pain increased, and all she wanted was for them to be there, knowing exactly what to do. Her mother would come up with some remedy while her father held her hand in that oddly comforting way. The thought of her father's cool hand holding hers calmed her. Her breathing slowed and the pain slowly eased away.

She lay in her bed for a while, waiting for the strength to move. When the pain became a dull throb, she sat up and again looked at her stomach. Whatever was there before was gone, replaced by slightly flushed skin. Putting her head in her hands, she took a deep breath.

"Shit," she breathed, and lay back down.

_You can't tell them. You're fine now. If you tell them, they'll found out you lied. You're fine now, just a stomach ache or a bruise. You're fine now. . _

She closed her heavy eyes, and fell into an exhausted sleep.

############################################

Evangeline listened as Persephone climbed the stairs and closed her bedroom door behind her. She turned to Trish who just shrugged her shoulders in response.

"I seriously don't know what to do with that girl. How can I tell her to stop being successful?" she said. Out of the corner of her eye, she noted Vergil had walked to the stairs and was staring intently towards the bedrooms.

"I don't know why you guys assume she is exhausted from school. I mean, she could be out doing other things," Caleb said with a devilish grin.

"Is she out doing other things?" Evangeline asked.

"No," said Gabriel.

Caleb elbowed his brother in his side. They gave each other a brief glare before seemingly resolving the issue mentally.

"Like that girl would do anything wrong. Yo, Vergie. Need to finish the game," Dante called.

The word "Vergie" grabbed Vergil's attention immediately and his glare snapped towards his brother. Vergil resumed his seat next to him, briefly catching Evangeline's gaze. She saw the glimmer of worry, hidden behind his angry expression.

"I think she'll be fine," Trish said, placing a gentle hand on Evangeline shoulder.

"Alright, let me finish decimating your armies until you admit defeat," Vergil said coolly.

"Ha! You're on," Caleb cried and rolled the dice.

Evangeline leaned back and grinned as Caleb and Gabe attempted to defeat their father's armies. Vergil could have beaten them several moves before, but he seemed to enjoy their little skirmishes and playful banter. Gabe began his account of his day telling his father his recent theory on his novel in class and his teacher's recent praise. Vergil listened with a slight grin and promised to read the paper when Gabe finished it before Caleb interrupted with his own tale from the soccer field.

She let the game continue without her as she watched. Suddenly, she felt a familiar sensation course through her body and felt the demonic burning in her eyes. A sudden knocking sounded through the house, and Evangeline stood with a smile.

"I'll get that," she said and blinked quickly at Vergil.

The burning grew stronger the closer she walked towards the door until she saw the world in red. She opened the door and smiled at the man standing on her stoop only jeans and a t-shirt. Quickly, she shut the door behind her and the man gave her a startled look. Slowly, the vision of a man blurred and she could see red flesh emerge, adorned with black spikes covering his head. She took a few steps out, and the demon stepped back and opened his mouth to speak.

"Don't bother, I know what you are going to say. You came here to challenge the sons of Sparda blah, blah, blah. Now let me say something, you are not the first demon to come to my doorstep wanting to kill my husband. In fact, there have been hundreds, and everyone of them died painfully. If the biggest and baddest devils in hell couldn't kill them, what makes you think you can?" she said.

The demon's human eyes and demonic eyes opened wide.

"You…I am…."

"That's not what I asked. In any case, I am letting you go because you are dead already."

"What do you mean?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"I mean as soon as you stepped onto this porch you were cursed with a very powerful spell, and are bound in that human form, making it very hard to hurt the inhabitants. See that charm?" She pointed to the crystal wind chime hanging near the door. "In about five minutes, I am going to tell the sons of Sparda about you and they will hunt you down and kill you. My suggestion? Run and hope they don't find you."

The demon stared at her for a moment, his mouth agape. She watched him suddenly tense his body to remove his human form before staring at his unchanged hands in disbelief. With wide eyes, he looked at her and gave a curt nod before promptly leaving.

"Bye now!" Evangeline called as he scurried down the street, checking over his shoulder every few moments.

With a laugh, she turned back towards her house. The nerve of those lower demons who just want to make a name for themselves. With a few pre-placed spells and words of confidence, most were sent running with the merest suggestion of doubt before getting any where near her family.

She snorted in derision and started towards the door. Briefly, she caught the movement of the curtains over the right side windows suddenly closing. She stepped inside the house and closed the door behind her.

"Damn, salesmen," she called into the living room. The code they used for, just a weak demon, nothing to worry about.

Evangeline removed her socks which had been dirtied from standing outside. Gabriel appeared from the foyer to the right and stared expectantly at her.

"Who was there, mom?" He asked quietly.

His blues eyes seemed to search hers urgently, as if expecting some answer.

"Just a salesman, like I said."

"Just wearing a t-shirt?" he asked.

Evangeline gave him a stern look. "He was no one. Just a salesperson for your father. Why are you so curious?"

"He was...he was a little weird," Gabe replied quietly. He looked down, causing his hair to obscure his eyes.

"Do you need to say something?" Evangeline asked.

Gabriel shook his head. "No."

With a sigh, she placed her hands on her son's shoulders which were already well above hers.

"You are the most gentle person and so hard to read, like your father. If you need to talk about anything, you know you can," she said and brushed the hair from his eyes.

Gabe nodded and headed back towards the game which had taken a turn for the worse. Caleb was grinning as Vergil glared daggers towards Dante who was loudly proclaiming his innocence of the army's destruction.

"Maybe we shouldn't play Risk anymore and go back to Uno."

##########################################

Persephone dreamt in red. She wandered down corridors she couldn't quite make out through the murkiness. Then she stopped. A shadowed man blocked her path, his back to her. He was large, and she could make out the faintest outline of armor and a horned helm. The dark murkiness surrounded him blurred more as he turned around. She took a step backward when a knocking shook the halls, and shook her awake.

"What?" she groaned with her face still planted in her pillow.

The door cracked open and she turned her head to see Gabe looking at her with concern, a plate balanced between his hands.

"Hey, Gabe," she said, and sat up.

"Mom thought you might be hungry and that I should check on you," he said and sat on her bed.

"No, I'm not really hungry, but thanks."

"Sephie, is there something wrong because you aren't acting normal," Gabe said, his eyes firmly locked on hers. He set the place down on the floor without breaking his gaze.

"Geez, you're like dad when you do that. I just have some things I need to take care of with mom and dad," she said.

"Like what?"

Her answer was interrupted by a sudden pounding up the stairs and the appearance of an irate Caleb. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"She looks fine to me," he said.

"Gee, thanks for actually checking up on me."

"You have been a huge bitch lately, so sorry if I'm not nicer," he said with a wicked smirk.

"Alright, alright, I know. I just have been dealing with things."

"Like what you were about to tell me…" Gabe said.

"What was she going to say?" Caleb asked and closed the door behind him, suddenly curious.

"Why do you care?" she asked.

"Because you're my sister so I need to know these things for future blackmail," Caleb responded.

Persephone took a deep breath. What ever she found out about their family, they deserved to know too. After all, they were lying to all three of them. Then again, maybe she was crazy.

She took a deep breath. "Okay. You know how we know nothing about mom and dad?"

"What do you mean? We know plenty," Caleb replied.

"I mean about their families, who they were, where they came from. There aren't even any pictures. Do you even know what dad and uncle Dante actually do?"

Caleb and Gabe exchanged glances and shrugged their twin shoulders in unison.

"He's a consultant," Gabe said.

"Yeah, for what? And what consultant works at night?"

"Okay, we'll humor you," Caleb said, raising his hands. Gabe nodded in agreement.

Persephone sighed and reached for her backpack, sprawling face-down across her bed. Fishing for her Chinese textbook, she found her printed pages still safely hidden. She righted herself with a grunt and displayed the papers to her brothers.

"Nice papers," Gabe said.

"Thank you. I've been doing research. In any case…" she removed the top sheet. "I was looking into mom and dad and you know what I found?"

"Do we really have to guess?" Caleb asked.

"I found nothing in the past twenty years or so. Mom and dad don't even have a marriage certificate on file. Technically, they were never married."

"So, we're bastards. Big whoop," Gabe said, his usually patient demeanor wearing thin.

"So, they have been lying to us to hide something. I looked up mom; she disappeared about twenty years ago. There's a missing person's report and everything. The weird part is they never found her and both her mother and brother were murdered," she said, handing Caleb the paper.

"Okay, that's a little weird. But maybe she had it bad at home," Gabe said.

"How about the fact that dad is legally declared dead? When he was eight there was apparently a home invasion and uncle Dante was the only survivor. I looked into it, and the name Sparda doesn't exist anywhere. No one, has that last name; it's made up," she said, looking each of them in the eye.

"Alright, that's strange," Caleb admitted. "But aside from the fact that they aren't dead what is your grand theory?"

"I think…they're spies or some sort of sleeper agents," Persephone stated.

There was a pause and Gabe began to snicker before Caleb burst into laughter.

"Come on, that's the only conclusion. They had to disappear to keep their covers," she snapped.

"You're crazy," Caleb said.

"Have a better explanation for why they are lying?"

"Nope," Caleb said, his chest still heaving with laughter.

Persephone jumped off the bed and reached to throttle him when Gabe's soft voice interrupted.

"Mom and dad aren't spies."

"And how do you know that?" Persephone said, giving Caleb a small shove. He wrinkled his nose at her and swatted her arm.

Gabe sighed, "Because I've been in the study."

A pin dropping would have sounded like an explosion in the silence. Persephone and Caleb stood with their mouths agape as Gabriel looked up at them with a guilty expression.

"How?" Persephone breathed. "That lock is solid. We've tried picking it thousands of times."

"Dude, why didn't you tell me," Caleb demanded.

Gabriel shrugged and stood up, pacing briefly before turning towards them.

"I don't know. I saw this red glow like a security thing, and I pushed it. Maybe they left the door unlocked that one time, but the door opened and I saw some stuff."

"Like what stuff?"

"Books and some old stuff. I didn't get a good look because it was only a few seconds. Mom came home, and I had to rush out. I knocked over some maps, though. I hope they don't find out I was in there," he said, looking at the ground.

Caleb grabbed his twin's shoulders. "You are a genius. You can totally get us back in there."

"I really don't want dad mad at me," Gabe said, shrugging off his brother's hands.

"You have to. I've spent my whole life wanting to know what was in there," Persephone said. "After school tomorrow, we're all home and mom works a little late. Why don't we stage a break in?"

"Deal. And now, you aren't as much of a bitch," Caleb said.

"Thank you," Persephone said with a grin.

"Fine," Gabe finally replied.

"Is she still alive!" they heard their mother yell from down the stairs, and all three scrambled.

##########################################

It took all the will power in heaven and hell to drag her exhausted body out the door and to school. Persephone's limbs had turned to lead, and sheer effort kept her from falling asleep at breakfast. She had spent the night starting awake to check her stomach over and over again. In her moments of sleep, she ran through the murky corridors hiding from something chasing her. The shadowed man would suddenly appear, and she would tear herself from her sleep. Around 3am, she gave up and started working on her biology assignment. By the time her alarm clock went off, she had to peel her face off the cover of her book.

She rested her head on the cool window, as the car bounced towards school. Her mother chatted with her brother's about the day's plans, and Persephone groaned. What little energy she had left came from the thought of finally breaking into her parent's study and finding what they were hiding. She thought of that as she clambered from the car and up the stairs to the school.

Her head felt heavy, so she kept her eyes to ground as she walked and watched her shuffling feet. Muddled thoughts of her school work came and went before screeching to a halt when a pair of boots entered her vision. Her glare followed the black combat boots up to a pair of torn black jeans, a leather jacket, and the face of a raven haired young man. He smiled at her and she sneered.

"You're in my way," she said, not in the mood to handle other people.

"I'm new here, and I need help finding the second gym," he said still smiling.

"And you stop the one person who looks like she's about to collapse. Where are you transferring from anyway? The anarchist street school?" she said, stepping back.

He laughed. "Public school. But about the gym?"

"The second gym isn't connected to the school." She pointed the sidewalk circling around the school to her right. "If you follow that, you should see it."

"Thanks. I'm Mark by the way," he stuck out his hand, and a small object fell from his pocket.

Persephone reached down and picked up the small red sphere. "I'm Persephone. You dropped your marble here, Mark."

She handed him the marble and walked away, ending the conversation. He watched her enter the school, her silver pony tail bouncing. Looking down at the red sphere, he smiled at the red glow emanating from it.

"Found you," he said to Persephone's retreating back.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yay! Another chapter. Please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcomed. <strong>_


	3. Chapter 3: Trouble

**_I do not own Devil May Cry or any of the characters, stories, plots, locations, etc therein. _**

**_Sorry, this took so long. Married life takes away more recreational time than you may think lol. In any case, I hope you all enjoy and may you have a happy holiday season. Please read and review!_**

* * *

><p>Vergil walked slowly down the shadowed alleyway where no sun seemed to penetrate, his blue coat slung over his shoulder where it hid Yamato strapped to his back. He could hear the sound of footstep, cars, and people talking and laughing as they went about their daily business. By two o'clock, their days were nearly over while his was just barely starting. He walked around an overflowing dumpster, and emerged from the alley and into the back street Dante's business had claimed. Before entering the building, he swung his coat from his shoulder and smoothly slipped into it, covering his "normal" clothes of jeans, a button down shirt, and black vest.<p>

He heard Dante and Lady before he even opened the door. They were arguing playfully, and when he stepped in he spotted Lady leaning over papers on the desk and Dante behind her with his hands on her hips, smiling. Lady glanced up and quickly moved away to avoid an awkward conversation, but Dante swatted her behind as she left prompting a red-faced glare.

"I see you two made up," Vergil said.

Lady rubbed her behind. "Not completely."

"It'll be completely later tonight," he grinned, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Lady growled in response and stormed to the back room. Dante laughed and turned towards Vergil.

"So do I have an adventure for you," he said.

Vergil couldn't up but perk up, thinking of the hunt his brother implied. It made his blood sing with anticipation, but he kept his face perfectly composed.

"Yes," he said.

Dante grabbed a thick folder from his desk and tossed it to Vergil. He snatched it out of the air with one hand, while the other grabbed the errant papers that had fluttered from it.

"How do you feel about a scavenger hunt?" Dante said.

Vergil looked at the papers in his hand, one of which was the copy of a missing person's report from several years ago.

"What's this?" he demanded.

"That is a file a client gave us. Some blonde woman wants us to locate her missing grandfather, dead or alive. Apparently, he disappeared with a family heirloom," Dante replied, twirling a gun absently on his finger.

"And why are you giving this to me if she's your client?" Vergil said, narrowing his eyes.

"Everyone says you're the smart one, and I know how much you love doing boring research."

A sudden wave of disappointment went through Vergil, followed by rising annoyance. If hadn't known any better, he would have sworn hell had given up and there were no more demons to fight. It had been too long since he had tasted blood that was worthwhile to shed.

"How about doing something more fun?"

Vergil turned in time to see Trish enter, her hips and long hair swaying. She sauntered into the room with a smile for Vergil and Dante.

"What do you have?" Dante asked.

"One of my excellent clients is a man who rents out warehouse properties. He caught wind of that there might have been some damages and sent his employee to clean it up. What he found was a large fenced in area and blood that had eaten through a foot of concrete, so he knew to call me. I told him if he didn't want to deal with demons, he should get out the warehouse business. It's almost like their natural habitat," she said and leaned against the desk.

"Most shy away from evicting demons," Vergil said, tucking the file under his arm.

"It sounded like a fighting ring to me," Trish said.

Dante grinned at his brother. "Looks like we have a party to go to tonight. Demon fight club."

Trish crossed her arms. "You know there hasn't been a gathering of demons in a long time. Don't you think there might be some meaning behind it?"

"Trish, don't ruin our fun. Vergil, you ready to rock tonight?"

Vergil grabbed Yamato's hilt and smirked. "I've been ready for a long time."

White chalk and the smell of plastic mats hung in the air. Persephone raised her arms and took a deep breath. As she exhaled, she bent her knees and pushed off the beam in a fluid back-tuck. Her feet hit the beam with the hollow thud of metal and leather and she reveled in the sound. One of her favorite feelings was the rough leather beneath her feet as she stuck another landing. She bent forward and pressed her hands to the beam, stretching one leg up until her toes pointed to the ceiling.

"Do most girls wear leotards under their uniforms?"

Persephone turned her head towards the voice, smiling at the woman through her hair. She pushed off with her feet and twisted to land on the mat next to the beam.

"I just wanted a moment, coach," she said, adjusting her uniform.

The older woman crossed her arms, making a swishing noise as the fabric of her track suit slid together. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun and her thin lips were pressed into a tight smile.

"Well it's not your gym time. The junior group is ready to get started," the coach replied and turned towards the girls warming up on the floor.

Persephone trotted across the large spring board floor where a few had finished stretching a started warming up their flips. She plucked her book bag from the floor and started walking towards the door.

"Sefie!" someone shouted.

For a moment, she felt detached from her body yet suddenly aware of the gym around her. Her skin prickled with alarm and she suddenly thrust out her arm out, making contact with flesh and bone. She turned her head in time to see surprised face of one teenage girl reeling away and landing face first. Persephone stared petrified at the girl as she climbed back to her feet and the other started clamoring.

"I'm…I'm so sorry," she suddenly stammered.

The girl rubbed her side and shook her head.

"Don't worry, I should have paid more attention. But damn, you hit like a linebacker," she replied.

"Are you alright?" her coached asked, appearing at her side. "I could have sworn she was going to hit you. Didn't even know you saw her coming."

"I don't think I did," Persephone said under her breath. She raised a hand to her chest that ached with her pounding heart. The whispers of the girls penetrated her ears, causing her cheeks to flush with hot blood. It rushed pass her ears, deafening the sounds of her gossiping classmates. Thump, thump, thump it strummed as her skin crawled as if some beast were going to erupt out of her. She ran to her bag sitting beside the mat and gathered her books before darting out of the door, leaving the eyes and whispers behind her.

Instead of bringing respite, the hallway was full of students mingling before their next class. Their chattering grew louder with every heartbeat until it battered painfully against her ears. She shouldered past them, struggling against the human tide.

"Hey!"

A well pressed uniform stepped in front of her just as another student running to class jostled her elbow, sending her books into a heap on the floor.

"Dammit!" she growled, feeling the anger bubble in her chest.

Another set of hands joined hers in picking up the scattered books. On one index finger was a large skull ring.

"Are you okay?"

She looked into blue eyes slightly covered by black hair and sighed.

"Not you again," she muttered.

"I prefer to be called Mark, but you isn't the worse thing. Do you need help?" he asked.

Thump, thump, thump. Her skin was on fire.

"No, I just need…"

She snatched the books from his arms and ran for the bathroom several yards away, gasping for air. The door slammed against the wall before closing as she dropped everything into a heap on the counter. With shaky hands, she fumbled with the knobs until cool water poured out and over her hot skin. She glanced up expecting to see a sweaty face but instead met two black eyes staring back at her. With a shout she stumbled backwards and against a stall door, rubbing her eyes furiously.

"It's not real, calm down. Not real, not real."

Her heart slowed.

"Are you okay?"

A petite girl stood with one hand holding open the bathroom door, a bewildered expression on her face.

Persephone snapped towards the mirror but saw only her blue eyes staring back. She took a deep breath, slowly collecting herself.

"I'm fine," she said to the girl. "Just feeling sick."

The girl cautiously eased her way towards the nearest stall.

"You should probably get a note to go home from the nurse then," she said.

Persephone began gathering her things from the counter. "That is probably a good idea."

"You sure this is it?"

Trish rolled her eyes at Dante. "Have I ever been not sure?"

Dante put his hands on his hips as he eyed the large, metal warehouse from their spot on an adjacent roof.

"Why here?" he asked.

Vergil glanced at his brother from the corner of his eye.

"Why not here?"

"No, I mean why is it always some warehouse, storage building, shed thing. It's either that or a mansion. Why not a house? Or an amusement park or something? Isn't this a little cliché by now?" Dante replied, shaking his head.

"I guess I see your point…" Trish said.

"Not to ruin this engaging conversation, but why is the relevant to the matter at hand?" Vergil asked.

"Demon psychology, very important."

"You're an idiot," Vergil replied.

"I've seen some trucks enter through the front, so it is probably watched," Trish said.

"There's a utility shed on the roof, so there is probably and entrance in there," Vergil said, taking a few steps back. He eyed the other roof and ran, leaping lightly and rolling to his feet on the other side.

Trish and Dante followed, his brother landing loud enough to cause him to cringe. Crouching, he moved quickly to the small shed on the roof and with one hand, snapped the lock holding the door shut. He glanced behind him to Dante as he tossed the lock away. Dante grinned and Vergil opened the door revealing a small generator and a shelf with maintenance supplies littering its surface. He glanced around the dim room, stopping on the small hatch in the floor.

Dante shouldered his way past and yanked on the metal ring attached to the hatch; it opened with a quiet groan. Briefly, Dante peered down the opening before lowering himself onto the stairs that sloped steeply into the warehouse, with Vergil and Trish seconds behind him.

The stairs ended six meters down in a large, musty room. In the hazy light, Vergil could make out several large metal units. His feet made a hollow echo as he stepped onto the metal floor.

"Must be the HVAC units," Trish said.

"We could always freeze them out," Dante muttered. "Look, there's a door over there."

"And another hatch," Vergil said, tapping his foot on the square door.

"The door probably leads down to the front," Trish said.

Dante headed towards the door, "I get door, more demons that way."

Trish sighed, and even in the dark he could sense her eye roll. "I'll go with."

Vergil opened the hatch to another set of steep stairs. It was a tight fit, and after the third time Yamato was caught on the proceeding stair, he had to clutch the sword to his chest as he descended.

_She said this would be fun_, he thought.

Instead of ending up in a pit full of demons, he found himself standing on a locked hatch. With a swift kick, the door swung open and he dropped to concrete floor and entered, yet again, another maintenance room. To his left he could make out the outline of a door from the dim light seeping through the frame. Strapping Yamato to his hip, he slowly stepped out into the hall.

He glanced around and realized the "hall," was a makeshift structure of scrap metal pounded together. Murmoring echoed softly further down, along with the shuffle of much closer feet. He stepped towards the sounds when he heard a snort and saw a spiked head, with a flicking tongue step out from around the corner. The demon swung a large maul experimentally, not noticing Vergil standing a few feet away.

Vergil cleared his throat.

The demon looked up, and his eyes widened, startled. In one fluid motion, Vergil unsheathed Yamato and slashed forward. The demon retained its startled expression as its head slowly slid from its shoulders. Gingerly, Vergil stepped over the corpse, avoiding the blood slowly spreading across the floor.

As he walked towards the end of the hall, he heard the distinct noise of cheering as a voice muffled by the static of a microphone rose indiscernible above the din. He paused in the light streaming from the around the edges of a large metal door, dented and pockmarked by multiple impacts.

"And our challenger!" the microphoned voice exclaimed. "The demonic tank. One of hell's most valued soldiers! Mal!"

The crowd erupting in loud cheering, punctuated by grunts and shrieks.

Hell's most valued soldier. Heavy on the exaggeration, Vergil thought and kicked open the metal door as the cheers reached their peak.

As he stepped into the brightly lit ring, the silence grew heavy. Wide eyes stared at him through the chain link fence that comprised the makeshift fighting circle. Vergil smirked at the demons and looked towards his opponent, a hulking mass of mottled brown flesh with a face so smashed and scarred it was impossible to determine what it once was.

"A change of plan folks!"

Vergil glanced above the fence to the observation platform hanging over the crowd and saw Dante standing on the railing.

"I present to you, the bane of demons everywhere. The slayer of your sorry asses. He came from hell and back. The cold, the mighty, the oh so arrogant, Vergil!"

Hisss.

"It's Sparda!"

The hulking mass grunted and swung its oversized mace over its head. Vergil stepped back, hand on Yamato, grinning like the madman he once was.

"It's been a while," he said.

Persephone felt as if a mace had smashed into her head. She lay in her bed, both hands massaging her aching temples. For the past hour her phone had been buzzing with text messages from friends desperately wanting to tell her what they had heard about her recent "incident."

"Just go away," she groaned and threw the phone on the floor. She closed her eyes and saw flashes of red.

The front door slammed and she cringed.

"Hey, Sefie! I heard you went full on ninja freak out today!" Cal called, running up the stairs.

"I have a headache," she groaned, as he burst into her room.

He jumped onto her bed, wrapping her in a bear hug. "Too bad, remember we're on a mission."

Persephone's eyes flew open as she remembered their plan.

"I completely forgot," she said and nudged her brother in the ribs. He rolled backwards in an easy summersault and stood up, pushing his white hair out of his eyes.

"I figured you had after I heard about your…moment shall we call it," he said and scooped her phone up from the floor.

She groaned again. "What are they saying?"

"Couple of people said you total beat the crap out of her for hitting on that new guy, then threw up in the bathroom," he said, scrolling through her messages.

"That totally didn't happen. I pushed her out of the way and why does everyone think I'm involved with Mark?" she said, standing up.

"Oh, so you know his name," Cal said, dodging her attempt at grabbing her phone. He tossed it quickly, sending it into the small pocket of her backpack across the room.

"Nice throw, how is your aim so good," she said.

He shrugged. "It's one of my many talents. My other talents belonging to my twin who happens to be waiting."

Persephone followed Caleb to the end of the hallway where Gabriel stood, looking around nervously.

"Come on," he said and waved them forward.

"Don't worry so much. Mom's in class and dad never comes home this early," she said.

"Still, this is dad's special room and I'd rather live thank you," he said. All three knelt by the doorknob and stared at their childhood mystery.

"Ok, I have tried picking this thing a thousand times and it has never worked," Caleb said, looking at his twin.

"I know, I was there with you. But the other day I saw something red…" he ran his hands over the lock and knob. "It's right there."

There was a sudden flash of red and they heard the click of the lock.

"Whoa, what did you do?" Caleb asked, patting his brother on the back.

"Didn't you see it?" Gabriel asked.

"I didn't see anything," Persephone responded and turned the knob. She paused for a moment and took a deep breath before pushing open the door.

She wasn't sure what she had expected to find when she first opened the door. Every theory she had thought up since childhood crossed her mind, including when she had thought that Santa and Easter Bunny resided there. Instead what she found were books and meaningless scraps of paper.

Curiously, she picked up a book from the table and examined the cover with the title written in another language. German, perhaps? The walls were covered in shelves stacked with books, some in English, and others completely foreign.

"Are these maps?" Caleb said, picking through a pile of scrolls on the desk crammed against the wall.

Persephone tilted her head to read one of the English titles. _The Nature of Demonic Entities and Their Relation to Humanity,_ it read. She shook her head and moved to the next title that simply read _Exorcisms._

"Look over here," Gabriel said. He stood gawking at the various weapons mounted on the wall. There were several swords, daggers, and other instruments she simply had no name for. She felt itchy merely looking at them.

"What is all this?" she asked.

"It looks like a bunch of occult stuff," Gabriel replied.

"So much for your sleeper agent theory," Caleb grinned.

"This is some seriously weird stuff," she whispered.

That's when they heard it, the slam of the front door. All three siblings froze and exchanged panic glances.

"Kids! I'm home!" they're mother's voice carried from downstairs.

"What do we do?" whispered Gabriel.

"Get out," Persephone hissed.

They carefully made their way to the door, listening to their mother downstairs. She heard her walk to the kitchen, her heels clicking against the linoleum. Then the clicking started towards the bottom of the stairs.

"Kids!" she called again.

"What do we do?" Gabriel whispered again.

Caleb sighed and nodded. "Leave it to me. And you both owe me."

Persephone heard her mother mutter under her breath and head back to the kitchen where the clinking of dishes began. Caleb hunched down and rushed towards the door, down the hall, and around the corner to the top of the stairs.

He grinned and saluted at the two of them.

"Hey, mom!" he screamed and headed down the stairs.

"Where have you been? And where are your brother and sister?" their mother asked.

Persephone and Gabriel held their breath as they listened for the opportunity to escape.

"They're in their rooms," Caleb said. "Anyway, I have something to show you."

"What now?"

"Actually, it's in the kitchen."

They heard the footsteps move again to the kitchen.

"You see, I was going to throw it away, but I felt so bad that I needed to show you," Caleb's voice grew fainter.

Shuffling.

"You called the teacher what!"

Persephone and Gabriel rushed out the door, and quietly closed it as their mother continued yelling at Caleb. Quickly, they rushed to their rooms and Persephone was praying her mother was shouting loud enough to drown out the noise. She closed her bedroom door, her heart pounding.

"Kids!" her mother shouted again.

She felt her heart stop. Slowly, she emerged from her room expecting a redheaded demon to leap upon her.

"Yeah, mom?" she squeaked.

Her mother was at the bottom of the stairs, squeezing the bridge of her nose and holding Caleb by one ear.

"Sweetie, can you please start the noodles for dinner while I deal with your brother," she said and forced a smile.

"Of course," Persephone replied, her body suddenly turning to jelly with relief.

_You owe me_, Caleb mouthed.

The scaly face winced as the heel of Dante's boot twisted deeper into the demon's chest. Vergil knelt by its head slowly twirling the point of Yamato into the ground mere millimeters from the demon's face; its yellow eyes watched the glinting metal, widening with each rotation.

"You could make this easy on yourself you know," Trish said, hands on her hips.

The demon hissed. "I just MC the fights."

"Wrong answer," Dante said and stomped his foot into its ribs.

"It's just fights! We weren't doing anything!" it yelped.

Vergil halted his blade.

"You see, there are a lot more demons here then we have seen in a long time," he said, motioning to the piles of corpse around them.

Dante grunted. "Bunch of pansies. Most of your "mighty warriors" ran for it."

"What did you expect? We weren't expecting you two to show up," it hissed.

"So what were you doing?" Vergil asked.

"Amusing ourselves," it growled.

Dante dug his heel in.

"Fine! Fine! We we're told something big was going down," it yelped.

"Why now?"

The demon laughed, its tongue flicking with each sputtered breath.

"What did you expect? That we would lie down and die? The plague, the Puppet Maker's war; it did a number on us. But hell is forever and we need to be prepared when it calls," it said slowly.

"What's coming?" Vergil asked, voice low.

The demon shook its head. "I don't know. It's mostly just rumors."

Dante pressed his heel in harder. "Why can't demons just come out with it? Why do I have to torture you?"

Green blood began to ooze from around the heel of Dante's boot. The demon cried out.

"Mundus! There's another gateway he can pass through the one Sparda died trying to close. He already sent part of himself through."

Dante eased the pressure on his foot.

The demon laughed and spat up green bile. "And he left something behind; his ultimate weapon. And when he gets it, you won't be able to stop him this time."

Vergil lifted Yamato and brought the point down, through the demon's eye. It let out one bitter laugh as the final breath left its body. Green blood bubbled up around Yamato as he swiftly withdrew it from the corpse. He wiped it with the edge of the tacky yellow coat the demon had worn.

"Mundus," Vergil said under his breath.

Dante unleashed a bitter laugh. "Mundus. Damn. Almost feels like déjà vu."

"What now?" Trish asked with her usual cool detachment.

"Dante, I think it's time we find father's grave, don't you?"

"Where do even start?" Dante asked.

"With boring research of course."

Persephone sighed and slammed her chemistry book shut. Two hours of research and she had only half a page of scribbles. Her mind wandered stubbornly back to the room at the end of the hallway. There was no fathoming what her parents were up to, but it was easy to guess why they hid it. She solved one mystery, now she needed to plan her next move.

The buzz of her phone pulled her from her thoughts. She glanced at the glowing text icon and opened it with a sigh.

_It's Mark. You studying for chemistry? I heard you were in my class but I didn't see you._

She scoffed and picked up the phone, typing furiously.

_How did you get my number?_

Buzz.

_Your friends. They said you need a partner._

She rolled her eyes. Apparently they though he was boyfriend material.

_I don't need a partner._

Buzz.

_Please, I need the help._

She paused for a moment, deciding whether she should respond.

_You text in complete sentences. I guess I could help. _

Buzz.

_Thanks. I find you to be worthy too. lol_

She laughed and typed quickly.

_You're going to be trouble. I can tell. _

Buzz.

_You have no idea. _

* * *

><p><em><strong>Thanks for reading. R&amp;R!<strong>  
><em>


	4. Chapter 4: Blue Devil

_**Welcome to my new chapter. As always, I do not own Devil May Cry, its characters, plots, stories, locations, etc. Your thoughts are always welcome, so please read and review. Like everyone, I need validation ^_^.** _

* * *

><p>The house was quiet. Darkness had muffled it into a silent hush with only shadows from the windows making their presence known. A familiar stab of fear went through his gut when he heard the sound of rushing water through the pipes as someone turned on the shower. He sighed, and the black stain of worry rushed out. Slowly, he climbed the stairs and paused at Caleb's door. Then he did something he hadn't done since they were small; he opened the door a crack and peaked his head in. Caleb was sprawled out face down on his bed, his sheets in tangles at his feet. Vergil crept up to his sleeping son, untangled the sheets, and laid them gently over him. Not even a groan. He snuck out and shut the door, moving to Gabriel's room next door. Gabriel was on his side, his arm tucked under his head, a book open on the floor next to him. Vergil listened for his breathing before shutting the door.<p>

Walking a few feet further, he stopped at Persephone's door. The light was visible under the door, not a particularly unusual event. There was a sudden burst of giggles, and he swung open the door. Persephone looked up with wide eyes and quickly shoved the cell phone under her pillow.

"Hi, dad," she said with a forced smile.

"You giggled," he said.

Her brow furrowed. "Yeah?"

"You don't giggle," he replied.

"Its nothing," she sighed and sat up in her bed.

He paused for a moment, examining her face.

"It better not be a boy," he said.

She rolled her eyes. "Good lord, dad."

"Tell him you have a large uncle."

She winked and cocked a finger pistol at him. Despite her silver hair, he saw a glimpse of her mother's supreme confidence. He smiled at his eldest. She had turned out to be far more than he had ever expected. When she was a tiny baby in his arms, he had wanted nothing more than for her to be like him. And now?

She never knew a world filled with monsters or terror. Never had to watch her family be torn apart and feel her soul become dead and hard. She was far better than he could ever be because unlike him, her uncle, and her grandfather, she had a choice

She was happy.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Are you having a fatherly moment?"

He realized he was still standing in the doorway.

"You should be honored. I have very few of those," he replied and turned to leave.

"Hey, dad?"

He turned back towards Persephone, who scooted to the edge of her bed. She looked down at her hands and fiddled with a fingernail. Finally, she sighed and looked up.

"Would you ever lie to me?" she asked, her blue eyes steely.

Vergil flinched slightly at the unexpected question. Stepping into her room, he closed the door behind him, walked to her bed, and sat down next to her. For a moment they sat in silence, each wondering what the other would reveal.

"Honestly? I would. In fact I have."

Her eyes widened and she frowned. "Wow, that really wasn't the answer I was expecting."

"I'm your father. I do what is necessary to keep you safe. In my experience lying is often necessary. That being said, you are not allowed to lie to me, however. I will find out and you will be severely sorry," he said.

"Ummm, okay," she said, her voice drawing out in confusion.

"You know I'm not very good at these things," he said, spreading his hands. "Probably because you were a complete accident."

"Gee, thanks."

He grasped her hand. "I'm not a perfect father and I'm not here every time I need to be. But I love you and your brothers more than anything else in this world. One day, I hope you'll know that everything I do is for and because of you."

Persephone squeezed his hand. "I know you love us. But I am very confused why you are telling me all this because it is very awkward."

"Probably guilt from all my lies," he said with a smirk. "I'm confused why you asked."

She shook her head and climbed under her sheets, settling her white hair on her pillow.

"No reason," she said. "I love you, Dad."

He smiled , stood up and walked out the door, turning off the light before closing it behind him. Vergil walked to his bedroom where Evangeline sat on the bed, her red hair wet, with a book open in front of her. She looked up and smiled then frowned, slamming her book shut.

"What's wrong?"

"Was it that obvious?"

"Worry is not something you have learned to hide," she said.

He shut the door behind him and turned towards his wife.

"I'm not going to hide it from you. A demon told us Mundus has found another way into this world," he said, keeping his face still.

Evangeline shot out of the bed. She looked around frantically as if looking for and escape route. Running her hand through her hair, she took a deep breath and sat back down.

"This is bad isn't it?" she asked.

"Yes."

She turned towards him, eyes wide with something he hadn't seen in a long time. Fear.

"We need to keep this from the kids. What do we do?"

"We find my father's body, and we kill Mundus."

*********************************************************

Persephone tapped her pencil furiously on the table in front of her. The sun had come out that day, making it unusually warm and the students took advantage of it by donning sweaters and studying outside. She had promised to meet Mark to study for chemistry on a day she didn't have afternoon rehearsal for show choir. So far, he was a late study buddy.

She felt an arm around her waist and jumped. Jane giggled and slid onto the bench next to her. Sarah and Mary Ann laughed and also took a spot at the table.

"Geez you scared me. Hey, guys," Persephone said.

"Hi, sweetie. Watch ya doin?" Jane asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

Persephone gave her a withering glare. "You know perfectly well what I am doing."

"I know. I'm good at finding the cute ones," Jane said with a smug smile.

Sarah grabbed her hand. "You should totally bring him out some time. We're thinking about heading some weekend to high school night at one of the clubs downtown."

"Okay, guys. Just because you want me to go out with him, doesn't mean it will happen. Besides, god only knows how I would breach the subject with my father. Remember what happened homecoming freshman year?"

The girls exchanged knowing looks and nods.

"Mitch still runs away every time he sees you," Jane said with a smile.

"Exactly. Besides he not my type," Persephone said.

"Why do you look so nervous then?"

"Who's nervous?" a male voice said behind them.

Jane, Sarah, and Mary Ann quickly got up and waved goodbye.

"Gotta go. You two behave," Jane said before running off towards the school.

Persephone shook her head and sighed.

"Sorry about them," Persephone said.

Mark sat next to her, setting his bag on the ground.

"Anything I should know about?" he asked with a knowing smile.

"Just that they are completely insane," she said. Behind Mark's head she saw Caleb. He was pointing and laughing between making kissing face at her. She quickly averted her eyes and smiled at Mark.

"So, what did you learn at your old school," she asked, slamming open her chemistry book.

He sighed and ran a hand through his black hair. "Truthfully, not a lot. My schools weren't very good before this one."

She grimaced.

"You look disappointed," he said.

"Sorry, if you hadn't notice, I'm a bit of an over achiever. But hey, everyone needs some help once in a while," she looked him in the eye. "So where did you go to school before?"

He shrugged. "No place you would have heard of. I came here when I moved in with my grandma after my parents."

Persephone opened her mouth to ask another questions before she grasped the meaning of what he had just said.

"I'm sorry," she finally said, unable to find accurate words.

"There are evil things in the world," he said, his eyes hard. "What's your family like?"

She suddenly felt very uncomfortable under his stare. "Um, you know. A little weird I guess. My mom teaches dance, my dad is a consultant, my brothers are extremely obnoxious because one is smart and the other one always gets into trouble."

He leaned closer to her, and she realized his eyes were brown.

"And what about you?" he asked.

"I'm just me," she said. A tingle started on the back of her neck and she felt the urge to run.

"No secrets? Demons in your closest?" he said with a hard, unfeeling smirk.

"Holy crap this got a lot deeper than I expected," she exclaimed as hot blood rushed up her neck. "How about the periodic table? What do you know about that?"

Mark leaned back the hollow smirk replaced with a genuine smile.

"Maybe it's too soon to tease. Sorry, my grandma always told me I was too curious," he said.

"Funny. My dad always told me the same thing," she said with a laugh.

He glanced at her sidewise, as if analyzing a subject on a lab table.

"You're not what I expected you would be," he said.

"What did you expect?" she said, pondering what her friends could have possibly said.

He shook his head and pulled out his phone that had started to vibrate.

"I gotta go," he said and stood up.

"Wait, we haven't gotten past awkward and actually studied," Persephone said.

"We'll set up another time. I promise," he said. He smiled one last time before trotting away towards the street.

Persephone sighed and shoved her chemistry book into her backpack. _I have no idea what just happened. Maybe I am weird,_ she thought.

**********************************************************

Mark only glanced back once and saw Persephone get up from the table and walk towards the school. He crossed the street and walked a block down before turning down an alley between a music store and a bar. He stopped suddenly when a figure dropped down from a fire escape and landed in front of him.

"Nice uniform, man," he said, flicking Mark's lapel. Mark slapped his hand away.

"Someone had to do it. Maybe you could use the schooling, Jon," he said to his friend.

The blonde young man laughed as three others joined them in the alley. A young woman with short brown hair sidled up next to Mark, her hands on her hips, and her bright red lips in a tight frown.

"You looked rather cozy," she said.

"Can you blame him, Rose," John said. "She's hot! I mean for a demon."

Rose crossed her arms and glowered. Mark wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Don't worry about it. Its all a part of the job," he said and kissed her cheek. The group laughed as Rose pouted prettily. Mark realized he must have looked like a potential mugging victim surrounded by the mangy group of leather clad hunters. The joviality was cut short as a quiet but firm voice called out behind him.

"He's doing good work. Acting just like any other teenage boy," Mara said, walking slowly towards them. Her blonde hair floated across her face, briefly obscuring the red birthmark on her forehead. The tension she caused was instant and thick like jungle air. Mark couldn't place the unease he felt towards their current employer, and if not for the "family" of demons, would remove their services instantly.

"Yeah, well all of this is getting rather boring," Jon said, faking a yawn.

Mara stared at him for a moment before blinking and turning towards Mark.

"Does she expect anything?" she asked.

"No," he said.

"Good. If you screw up, they'll disappear. Being subtle is key. They can't corrupt their victims if the general population is aware," Mara replied with a smile.

"We'll get them," Rose said. The group began talking excitedly about the prospect.

"How are you so sure you're right?" Mark asked suddenly.

Silence.

Mara's eyes flashed towards him and he felt the familiar twinge of a threatening presence. Finally, she smiled sweetly.

"What do you mean, dear?" Mara asked.

Mark pushed Rose away who protested by firmly grasping his waist.

"I mean that Persephone doesn't exactly read as a psychotic demon bent on destroying the local community," he said, looking her in the eyes.

Mara sighed and stepped up to him, only inches from his nose.

"That's what they want you to think," she said, her voice low. "I've seen it happen. I saw first hand what they have done. They destroyed my family. Besides, you saw that little relic of yours glow, right?"

He nodded.

"Have you ever met a demon who wasn't evil? That's why you're a hunter, isn't it?" Mara asked.

Mark looked down at his feet. "Yes."

"Good. Then do the job I hired you for," she said. "Patience. You'll have your demons."

**************************************************************

The world turned into a blur around her. In the mirror, her reflection whizzed by in a smudge of black and white. Her breath was heavy and her ankle aching, but she was lost in the motion. The world became a faded vision and all that was left was sensation of perpetual movement.

_He looked at me funny. Why did he look at me that way?_

Twirl, twirl. She could see brown eyes.

_God, I'm an idiot. He wont call again._

Twirl, twirl.

_Maybe he knows. Maybe he knows there's something wrong with me. What is wrong with me?_

A sharp pain went through her ankle.

_Freak!_

The world came to a screeching halt as her ankle rolled to the side and she tumbled to wooden floor. She lie on the floor for a moment, listening to her breath go in and out and watching her vision settle. With a groan she sat up, flexing her sore ankle. She heard the beep of her phone alarm and stood up slowly. It was late, and she knew it. For once, she didn't care.

Grabbing her bag and coat, she left her mother's empty studio, locking the door behind her as she went out to the cold darkness. She walked two blocks to the bus stop and waited for the next lonely trip. Climbing onto the bus, she kept her eyes down and avoided contact with the tired riders until she climbed off fifteen minutes later. The street to her house was brightly lit by streetlights. When she was younger, the yellow lights always bothered her; they were too harsh against the darkness.

Persephone rubbed her eyes as they began to water. Her skin began to crawl as she walked up the short sidewalk to her house. She knew her parents would be angry, but she couldn't bring herself to feel ashamed. Her thoughts were hazy, floating wistfully through her mind and disappearing into some dark hole. She wondered if she was dreaming.

She blinked and looked around, suddenly aware that she was standing inside the foyer. Her mother rounded the corner from the living room.

"Persephone, where have you been?" she asked, her face the parental mix of both concern and anger. She must have been waiting by the phone.

"At the studio. I just needed to… I need to sleep," she replied and started up the stairs without removing her shoes.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" her mother asked, gently stroking her arm.

Feet pounded in the upstairs hallway and too the top of the stairs.

"She's got a boyfriend!" Caleb cried with a wicked grin.

Her mother looked at her with shock.

"A boyfriend? Really?" she asked. "That's actually really surprising."

A bolt of anger went through Persephone's stomach. She curled a lip at her bother.

"Thanks for that mom, but he isn't my boyfriend. He's just my chemistry partner," she said and marched up the stairs. As she approached her brother he stuck his tongue out at her and stepped to the side before following behind her.

"I thought you two looked so cute," Caleb said, walking behind her to her room.

Persephone rubbed her throbbing head with one hand and tried to slam the door shut with the other. Her brother stuck his foot out and caught it before it closed, and let himself in.

"Shut up, Cal," she growled and put her bag down. She winced as a ringing grew in her ears.

"Oh, did he leave you? Must have scared him off, like you do most people," he said with a laugh.

Persephone groaned and leaned against her dresser as the world began spin. The familiar pain in her stomach came back with a vengeance, sending sharp knives through her abdomen and chest.

"Cal…." she growled.

"What are you guys talking about?" Gabriel asked, entering the room.

"Oh, just Persphone's complete and utter rejection by her boyfriend. I knew you liked him," Caleb said.

Persephone closed her eyes.

"Cal, just get the hell out," she said. Her heart raced and every breath brought only more pain. It was a roaring wave, pushing her further and further down until there was no more air. She wanted to just rip her skin apart and scream.

"God, freak," Cal said. "No need to spaz out."

_Freak! _That's when she felt a snap and the pain stopped. Everything just stopped and she whirled towards Caleb, grasping at him with one hand.

"Get out!," she screamed, her voice sounding strange and guttural to her ears.

Caleb's eyes were wide with fear and Gabriel was pulling him out of the room. He opened his mouth to scream.

"HOLY SHIT!"

She looked at her outstretched hand, or rather, outstretched claw. Her fingers were blue and ended in wickedly sharp black claws. Her brothers ran from the room. She snatched her hand back and spun towards her mirror to meet a monster.

And she screamed.

*********************************************************

Evangeline heard the pounding upstairs and returned to her checkbook. One of the boys shouted, and she stood up with a groan.

"Really, boys? Fourteen years and you haven't learned to get along with your sister?" she called, and stepped over the coffee table on her way to stairs.

Caleb and Gabriel stormed down the stairs, tripping over their feet in panic. Evangeline heard Persphone scream as the boys rushed towards her, pulling her towards the door. Their eyes were wide and kept darting towards the stairs.

"Boys, boys. What's wrong? Is Persephone okay?" she said, grabbing Caleb by the shoulders and forcing him to look her in the eye.

"Mom….," his mouth opened and closed but no noise came out.

Gabriel pulled on her arm again.

"Mom, we need to go," he pleaded.

She heard Persephone scream again and snapped her head towards the stairs where a blue demon appeared. It rushed down the stairs screaming, and Evangeline shoved the boys behind her, bracing herself for the attack.

It stopped for a moment in front of her, breathing heavy. It's flesh was deep blue, comprised of hard scales, interlocking like plate armor. Radiating out from its core were swirls of black, that formed a type of armor across its abdomen, chest and to the top of its legs. Black, almond shaped eyes were set above a mouth filled with thin, needle like teeth. Two black horns curved over its head and down the back of its skull before ending in curled, sharp points.

The shape was distinctly… feminine and as it stood in front of her, it held out its hands as if pleading. When it reached for her, she slapped its hand away.

"Get back," she growled.

The demon looked at its clawed hands and cried out again, running into the livingroom in a blue blur. Evangeline's heart stopped. She knew that voice.

Caleb's nails were dug into her arm. "Mom, Persephone…."

The demon ran by again, knocking over furniture as it went. The boys took off in the other direction as Evangeline tried grabbing her daughter turned demon.

"Persephone stop!" she cried, but it was no use. Panic had set in, and Persephone ran back and forth between the kitchen and livingroom, arms flailing, and screaming. Caleb and Gabriel huddled behind the couch, watching with wide eyes.

Evangeline managed to grab the blue blur, only to have Persephone's arm slip from her fingers.

"Please, calm down," she said. The door opened behind her and Vergil stepped in, one eyebrow raised.

Evangeline grabbed his arm and thrust him forward with one order, "Catch your daughter." In the blink of an eye, Vergil was next to the demonic Persephone and had her wrapped in his arms. She writhed in his grasp, desperately attempting to escape.

"Persephone, Persephone," he said in soothing voice. "You're fine. You can calm down."

She continued to struggle, seemingly deaf to any pleas.

"Persephone!" he snapped. "Look at me."

She stopped and stared at her father with black eyes. In a sudden burst of blue energy he triggered his own form. The two demons stared at each other for a moment. Vergil relaxed his grip and changed back to his human form.

"Holy shit," Caleb whispered, crawling from his spot behind the couch.

"You're okay," Vergil said, cupping Persephone's cheek. "Just breath and calm down. You can do it. Remember your body and just let it go."

Persphone's blue and black shoulders heaved up and she closed her eyes. A moment later, her human body returned in a burst of blue light. Her legs buckled and she slumped to the floor, shaking, Vergil gently guiding her to a sitting position.

"It's okay. It will pass," Vergil said softly.

Persephone looked up towards his face, tears streaming down her face in a torrent of fear and confusion.

"Dad, what's wrong with me?" she sobbed.

Vergil felt a knife to his heart. It was one question he had never asked of himself.

"Absolutely nothing," he said firmly.

"Boys, sit on the couch now," Evangeline said, snapping her fingers towards the still cowering twins. "Their your father and sister."

Vergil looked towards his wife.

"I was right. I'm always right," he said.

"Yeah, yeah. You can gloat after we explain everything."

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><p><em><strong>Peace out!<strong>_


	5. Chapter 5: If I were only human

_**Hey, guys! Sorry this took so long. I wish I had a good excuse, but sometime life just gets in the way. I hope you enjoy. R&R please!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry, or its characters, plots, stories, locations, etc.**_

* * *

><p>Vergil and Evangeline, at first, could only stare at one another, each expecting the other to start. Despite countless conversations about their children and what to do if they ever found out, they had never discussed the most important piece.<p>

How do they explain to their children that they are the grandchildren of a demon hero?

Persephone had situated herself on one end of the couch, while her brothers smashed themselves on the opposite side, trying to put as much distance between them and their sister as physically possible. All three sat silently, waiting for anything.

Evangeline sighed and cleared her throat. "First of all we want you to know that we love you all very much."

"But you're the descendants of the demon warrior Sparda," Vergil cut in.

Evangeline scowled at him, "You could have eased into it a bit."

"Why? It's the truth," he turned back to the children. "My father, your grandfather, was a demon. Over two thousand years ago he saved the human world from the demon world. Eventually, he met your grandmother and they had your uncle Dante and me."

"So I'm a demon," Persephone said softly.

"Only part demon. I'm human…mostly," Evangeline, quickly interjected.

"Does it fucking matter!" Persephone snapped, leaping to her feet.

"Persephone!"

"Oh, I'm a demon and you're going to be made about my language," she said with a sneer.

"Sit down," Vergil said calmly, and Persephone sat down with a thud.

"You're not alone Sephie. Your father, your uncle, Aunt Trish. Even me, in a way," Evangeline slipped the ring off her middle finger, causing Caleb to nearly leap over the back of the couch as the dark demonic essence appeared in her eyes.

"How the hell did that happen?" Caleb squeaked.

"Your mother was held prisoner in hell in an attempt to turn her into a demon," Vergil said flatly.

"God, Vergil stop it," Evangeline glared. "Remember the birds and the bees talk? You could probably handle this a bit more gently."

"There's nothing gentle about this," he glared back.

Persephone wanted to tear at her hair and scream, but held it back, fearful of the demon resurfacing.

"Stop it, please," she said through gritted teeth, rising to her feet. "Just tell me, why me? Why am I the one like this?"

"Yeah, why am I not some kickass demon?" Caleb said.

"It's kind of like genetic roulette, sweetie. We don't know if you will," Evangeline asked.

"Can he have it? Can you just get rid of it because I don't want it," Persephone felt tears stinging her eyes. It would have been at moments like these, when things began to crash in slow motion that she would run into her mother's arms. But seeing the eerie darkness staining her eyes made her sick. If she could, she would have wished her mother and father and all their lies away. But they were still there, speaking with an unnerving sense of normalcy about the situation.

"I can't take it away, Persephone," her father said. "It's who you are."

"No, no, no. It is not who I am. I am a normal high school student. I am a slightly anal straight-A student who dances and does gymnastics and just wants a boy in her class to like her. I'm going to college and going to China, and I am not some evil demon…," she trailed off as the tears choked in her throat.

She saw her mother take a step towards her and immediately shot her hands out and quickly jumped back.

"No, you don't get to touch me. Why did you never tell me? How could not tell me about what I might be?"

Her father stared at her with his steely eyes, and she saw something surprising.

Relief.

"Dad?"

"It wasn't your father it was me," Evangeline murmured. "He wanted to tell you from the moment you were born, but I wanted to hide it. Why subject you to it if you were just human?"

"And if it didn't turn out we were normal? You were just okay with shattering our entire lives?"

Persephone shouted.

"We thought it would be best to give you a chance at…" Evangeline spread her hands. "Something else. Something…normal."

Persephone's hands rolled into fists at her side as her icy gaze turned towards her mother. Her head was swimming, churning with thoughts of anger, disbelief, and the absurdity of it all. Suddenly, one clear thought rose to the surface. _This is real. This is who I am._

"I hate you," she hissed.

Her mother jerked as if she had been slapped.

"You didn't give me choice. My life, it wasn't real. Everything I ever wanted for myself, just because you wanted something different," Persephone said. She turned away from her mother's crumpling face and walked towards the door, ignoring the call for her to stop as she left the house.

Night had fallen. The wind was cold but seemed to melt against her hot skin. She looked around at the empty yard and darkened street. The world seemed to move in slow motion, the light from the street lamps became liquid gold cascading to the street below and the darkness thick enough to swim through. The wind gently flowed through the grass and each tossing blade resounded in her ear.

The path she had walked a thousand times seemed a brand new world and she stepped forward into it.

Her feet carried her without any direction. As she walked, the anger slowly drained away and for a blissful moment she thought of nothing except the sound of her feet until the demon crashed again into her consciousness. She stumbled and stopped herself against a post office box.

_This can't be real,_ she thought. She never believed demons, ghosts, angels and whatever else might have existed. In fact, she couldn't recall a time she had ever even contemplated the possibility. But in the reflection in her bedroom, she had seen it. She was it.

She suddenly clutched her chest with the realization it was still inside her and always had been. Anger and confusion morphed into icy fear. Slumping against the post office box, she slid to the ground feeling as if she had shattered into a thousand pieces.

"I don't know where to go," she whispered. No response.

Persephone grunted as she stood up. Her body had grown heavy sitting against the cold metal. Glancing around, she saw a woman peeking out behind the curtain of the house she apparently settled next to, her eyes staring daggers under their wrinkles. She grimaced and waved before starting to walk again. Going back home wasn't an option she was willing to take; neither was sleeping on the street. But there was one place where crashing was a way of life and where one promise had stood since she was fourteen.

Every so often she would glance behind her, feeling the prickling on the back of her neck of someone watching and each time all she saw was empty sidewalk. It was about an hour of repeating this ritual while walking through well-tended residential neighborhoods before she came to downtown. The street signs she passed were only vaguely familiar from memories as a child. She had rarely traveled to her Uncle's place, and never on foot. The shadows of buildings made the roads darker and she felt a slight twinge of fear in her stomach. However, the few people she passed hardly looked at her, rushing home from whatever place they had come from. Occasionally, a drunken party goer would giggle by with only a brief glance.

From behind, she heard a soft shuffle and started walking faster, frantically searching for the familiar. That's when she came to a small pizza shop with a bright red awning. She recognized the brightly colored open sign that seemed to be painted by hand. It was years ago she stared at it while her uncle picked up a pizza for movie night after picking her up from a debate competition downtown. He had spent at least fifteen minutes chatting with man at the counter. She quickly stepped into the store, filling her nostrils with the scent of baking crusts and cheese.

The man at the counter looked up in surprise, his mustache wiggling as he sniffed.

"Sorry, sweetie. We're closed," he said. He squinted at her a bit more closely.

"I'm sorry. I'm just looking for directions to a place called…." She snapped her fingers, trying to recall the name of her uncle's store. "Devil May Cry! That's it."

"Aren't you a little young to be looking for a place like that?" he asked.

"Umm, I hope not. Dante's my uncle and I'm just looking for his place," she said.

His eyes suddenly brightened. "I thought you guys must be related. You look just like him. He's only a few blocks away. Just turn right from here until you reach 22nd then take a left for about six blocks. You can't miss the sign."

"Thanks," she chirped. As she stepped outside she heard him call out.

"Tell Dante he still owes me money!"

Following the pizza man's directions, she found herself under the bright red sign of Devil May Cry. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door and stepped inside. The room was dimly lit and was just as dirty as she remembered with the beat up old couch in the corner, the walls riddled with holes. Her uncle was at the desk, his chin resting on his folded hands.

"It's about time you got here. I was about ready to go looking for you," he said and waved her in.

"Did my mom call you?" she asked and walked over to the couch, eyeing with a disapproving glare before sitting down.

"Of course she did. That woman has been able to predict your every move since you were able to walk. So, what was it like?" he said and sat next to her on the couch.

"What was what like?" she asked and slumped back into the seat.

"Changing for the first time, little bean," he said.

Her mouth dropped open. "How could you even ask me that? It was terrible. I turned into a demon. What did you expect?"

He shrugged. "I thought it awesome when I first changed. Of course, your dad had just stabbed me through the chest so the prospect of ripping his head off was exciting."

Persephone's only response was to blink as she tried to process what he had just said. Her uncle glanced at her face and laughed.

"There is one hell of a story waiting for you. But we'll take it step at a time," he wrapped his large arm around her shoulders and placed his silver head against hers.

"I know that it seems overwhelming, but your father and I got through it. And you will get through it too, but even better. You're much smarter than we ever were and you have all of our mistakes to learn from." He pulled away and hopped to his feet. "But on a less serious note, it felt good, right? All that power and strength. You're superwoman now."

"I did accidentally throw a girl across the gym," she mumbled, a slight grin growing.

"Yeah, it gets better." He ran to the back room and emerged with a large sword in hand. "This is a devil arm. Your grandpa left it for me. You've seen your dad's around. And eventually, you'll have one too."

Dante held the sword out to Persephone. She examined the over-sized sword and its intricate work at the hilt that was shaped into a demon. The sword was over half the length of her uncle but he held it with ease in one hand.

"Here, catch," he said quickly and all she saw was flying metal heading towards her face. She closed her eyes and stuck a hand out expecting the sword to clatter to the floor. When she opened her eyes again, she was holding the sword upside down, near the base of the hilt. It was heavy, but nearly as heavy as it should have been.

"Whoa," she whispered and tentatively swung the massive sword.

"Pretty cool, huh? But you can't have that one," he said and snatched it away. He placed the sword on the desk and twirled back towards her, hands spread. "See, it's not all bad."

The brief relief of her uncle's playful attitude quickly dissipated with that one question.

"They lied to me," she said, her voice almost pleading. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I know. Did I agree with it? Not at all. But they thought that they were doing what was best for you. I don't need to tell you how much they love you, and I don't blame them for wishing they could keep all this away from you."

"My life…it's a lie. I don't know who I am," she said.

"Don't be stupid," he snorted. "You're exactly the same person you were before, just with some extra cool stuff. Knowing this stuff doesn't change a damn thing."

She smiled weakly. He was right. It was like finding out your ancestor was a criminal, if a more extreme version, how much does it really change a person? It existed before and will exist after knowing as will every memory and every moment of her life. Even with her uncle's advice, she still felt uneasy.

"This is all completely insane," she said.

"I know, but this is what you were born into so I think you're well adapted to handle it," he said with a laugh.

"I guess I should go home. Do you want to walk me home?"

"Nah, your dad followed you here. He'll take you back," he replied.

The door leading upstairs opened and her father walked through and down the stairs.

"You should really keep the upstairs windows locked," he said with a cool look towards his brother.

"It's a change from people busting down my front door," Dante replied with a shrug.

He turned his gaze towards her. "Are you ready to go?"

"Do I have a choice?"

He grinned slightly. "Not really."

With a nod towards Dante they walked out the front door and into the night. They walked without saying a word, the silence punctuated by only the occasional passerby and the rustle of trash in the wind. Persephone kept glancing at her father from the corner of her eye. He kept his gaze ahead of him, almost seeming to forget she was next to him. She wasn't sure how to feel walking beside him. Angry? Scared? Guilty? She didn't feel ready to forgive him, but she didn't want to feel alone and whether she wanted it to be or not, he was one of the few people who understood what was happening.

"How long were you following me?" she finally asked as the passed over the bridge that connected downtown to the surrounding residential neighborhoods. The silence seemed to shatter under the weight of too many words.

"Since you left the house. You should be better about watching your back, I wasn't trying very hard," he said without looking at her.

"Oh, okay," she replied weakly.

"Do you feel better now?" he asked.

"I don't know. I guess so. I'm still processing it all," she said.

"So are your brothers. Apparently, Gabriel has been seeing things for several years now. That's how he managed to break the spell on the door to the office. I thought something was up with that boy when he asked why your mother had brown eyes," he said flatly.

"He turned into a demon?"

"No, but he can probably master the dark arts one day," he replied.

"That's...good?"

"It's acceptable," he said.

Silence again. Persephone shivered. The adrenaline and emotion that had kept her going before and worn off and the wind starting nipping at her bare arms. Her father's long steps began to slow and he removed his blue coat, placing it around her shoulders.

"How's mom?"

He finally looked at her, his blue eyes hard.

"She's most likely crying herself to sleep. She was never very good at controlling her emotions. That wasn't my favorite aspect of her personality," he replied. "But I'm very protective of your mother."

"I was wrong to say that to her," Persephone said looking at her feet scuffling across the concrete.

"There has never been a time I've been more disappointed in you," her father said. The words stung like a whip against her consciousness.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"You don't have to say that to me. You have no idea what your mother went through to bring you into this world and keep you here," he said.

"I'm not sure how to take all of this information. I still have questions," she said, sheepishly looking up at him.

He nodded. "I know, and I will answer everything. But first you need to make amends."

"Thank you for being here," she blurted.

She felt her father's rough hand grasp her own. He hadn't held her hand since she was seven and told him she didn't need help crossing the street. This time though, she didn't care if he helped her again.

#####################################

The house came into view and Persephone's heart started to pound, her stomach sunk into her feet. Her father let go of her hand as they walked up the path leading to the front door. He opened the door and turned back to where she had planted herself. He gestured towards the door with his head and she obeyed, feeling nearly sick. Inside, all the lights were out save for the soft glow emanating from her brothers' rooms at the stop of the stairs. She started her slow climb to the top.

Caleb poked his head out from his room.

"Dad! Why am I not a demon and everyone else is?" he demanded. "When will I get super powers?"

"Caleb, go back to your room," he said flatly. Caleb slunk back inside with a sharp glare towards her, muttering under his breath.

Persephone passed by when she heard a soft rustle from the Gabriel's room. He stood in the doorway, biting his lip and staring at his feet.

"Hey, Persephone?"

"Yeah, Gabe?"

He looked her in the eyes and she was struck by how much that heavy gaze reminded her of her father's.

"I'm not afraid you. I thought you should know," he said.

"That helps," she said with a smile.

He grinned back. "If anyone could handle it, it's you."

She nodded and continued towards the end of the hall where the door to her parent's room was closed. Pausing at the door, she leaned close her cheek against the wood, listening for any sound.

Silence. Slowly, she pushed the door open, the light from the hallway creating a small triangle of visibility on the bed. From under the sheets a small, pale foot peaked out. A staggered hiss escaped her lips and Persephone realized she was holding her breath.

"Mom?" she whispered.

No response.

She tip toed slowly across the floor and slid into the bed. Her mother shifted slightly as Persephone wrapped her arms around her and rested her head against her back.

"I'm sorry, mama. I don't hate you. I was just so scared," she said. Her mother's hair tickled her nose. Persephone expected her mother's soft voice, always comforting to say some choice words. Instead, she was met with a stone wall of empty air. The quiet room seemed to slice her heart in two and hot tears rushed down her cheeks.

"Mom, I love you and I need you. Please don't leave me alone," she choked.

Her mother turned to face her, bringing Persephone closer.

"Don't cry, sweetheart. I would never leave you," she said. Persephone rested her head against her mother's arm and she remembered all the nights when she was smaller, lying just like this as a storm raged outside.

"Mom, I don't know what to do," she cried. Evangeline brushed Persephone's hair from her face.

"You overcome it just as you always have. You have always been so strong and you always will be. This doesn't change that about you. It just means you might have to some ass than usual," Evangeline said softly.

Persephone managed a small laugh before the tears overwhelmed her again. She nestled closer to her mother and cried, feeling the light brushes of her mother's hand through her hair.

Evangeline started to hum softly. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when the skies are gray. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away."

As Persephone listened to her mother's soothing voice, she realized she was no longer angry or confused. She was tired, and she let her eyes close so sleep could overcome her.

################################

The house was strangely quiet, save for the sounds of clinking silverware in the kitchen. Identical heads of silver hair hung low, staring sullenly into their cereal bowls. Occasionally, Caleb would look up from his food and at his brother. Caleb darted his eyes towards his mother sitting silently at the table, sipping from her coffee and reading the newspaper, still in her black nightgown. Gabriel's only response was to shrug and stare into his cereal again, as if scrying for some answer.

"So, are we going to talk about anything?" Caleb finally asked.

"Can you keep your voice down, your sister is still sleeping," his mother responded, glancing over the top of the newspaper.

"Shouldn't we all stay home to, let's say, process this massive, life changing news?" Caleb said, letting his spoon clatter into his now empty bowl.

Evangeline sighed and set the newspaper down.

"You two will go to school and pretend that none of this happened. I think you are smart enough to realize that you are not to say anything to anyone. Your lineage changes nothing. You are still two teenage boys going to school. Do I make myself clear?" she said, looking Caleb in the eyes.

"Yes, ma'am," he grumbled.

"I know the two of you have more questions than I could imagine. And they will be answered, I promise. But it will take some time," she said.

"Are you always going to hide your real eyes?" Gabriel suddenly asked.

"Maybe I won't at home," she said with a small smile.

"I always thought they looked kind of pretty," he said softly.

Caleb snorted. "So I'm the odd man out. No demon powers, no…," he waved his hand at his twin. "Weird demon vision thing that you have. I would be an awesome demon and I'm the one that got screwed."

"Cal…"

"No, seriously. No one thinks I'm going to be some successful genius like Persephone and Gabe. They don't even want it. So why am I the one without powers?" he said, slamming his fist against the table.

Caleb's heart was pounding in his chest as he glared at his brother. He shifted his gaze towards his mother. Her eyes met his with equal anger and he slowly sunk into his chair.

"You have no idea what you are asking," she hissed. "It might seem cool to you, but our lives were a nightmare for a very long time. Consider it a blessing that you may never have to experience it."

"Listen to your mother."

Caleb nearly leapt through the ceiling at the sound of his father's voice. Vergil crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway to the kitchen.

"I want you two to finish eating and head to school now," he said. "If you mention any of this to anyone I will not hesitate to lock you in the basement for the rest of your young life."

Caleb and Gabriel shot out their seats simultaneously and darted towards the front door.

"Bowls in the sink," Vergil growled. The two boys ran back in to deposit their dirty dishes in the sink before rushing out the door.

"I'll pick you up after soccer!" Evangeline called after them.

She crossed her legs and turned towards her husband.

"So what is your plan?" she asked.

"It's time for her to learn how to be a demon," he replied.

########################################

Persephone's head shot out of pillow with the loud whir of her phone vibrating against her bedside table. She groaned, throwing her arm over her eyes, feeling as if she only been asleep for mere moments. The last waking moment she recalled was falling asleep next to her mother, and then she was back in the red corridors. She knew the horned man was searching for her, but no matter how far she ran in the maze, she would always hear his footsteps behind her.

After a moment, she grabbed her phone from the table and sat up. She was still in her school uniform, now hopelessly rumpled. She flipped open the phone, squinting slightly with the bright light.

_Study today? Sorry I left so quickly yesterday. _It was from Mark.

She sighed. Apparently the world doesn't stop once you become a demon.

_Not today. Tomorrow after school._ She typed and laid the phone back down, snuggling deep into her blankets.

Her eyes snapped open again at the sudden onslaught of sun in her bedroom. Standing against the window was the outline of a tall man and for a moment her breath caught in throat in panic.

"Time to get up. Put on some clothes and head to the basement," her father. She let out her air in a long sigh.

"You scared me," she said.

"I shouldn't have. Get ready," he said and headed towards the door. She saw the sword hanging from his hip.

"Get ready for what?" she asked.

He paused and turned towards her. "Your training starts today."

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><p><em><strong>Please R&amp;R. I will get the next chapter up much sooner. Promise!<strong>_


	6. Chapter 6: Tale as Old as Time

**_Hello, long time no writing. I feel the inspiration again so these will keep coming. Even some other stories in the works. I hope you enjoy. Like usual, I own nothing of Devil May Cry, sadly. _**

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><p><em>Training. <em>Persephone thought as she stared into the open drawer of her dresser. She had no idea what her father meant, even less idea of what he meant by getting dressed. It was strangely comforting starting her day like she usually did, fretting over what to wear. She slipped into a black leotard, a pair of light yoga pants and the running shoes she hadn't worn in years.

She slowly entered the hallway and walked down the stairs, through the kitchen to the basement door. Behind the closed door, faint voices could be heard.

"Persephone stop stalling at get down here!"

She nearly jumped out of her skin before swinging open the door and darting down the stairs. At the bottom, her mother stood with a box on her hip, dressed for work.

"I moved everything either to the garage or to the back room. Try to avoid destroying anything," she said and started up the stairs.

Persephone's stomach dropped to her feet. "You aren't staying?"

"I have to go to work. Besides, if something happens I can't really defend myself. Have fun, dear."

Persephone turned to the center of the now empty concrete basement. Her father stood with his back to her, facing an old upright pipe. He wore a pair of loose black trousers, knee high boots, and a thick leather vest that was stitched together in such a way to resemble armor rather than clothing. In his left hand he held a long sword.

"Dad," she whispered.

He gripped the hilt of the sword with his right hand and before she could blink she saw a bright flash and the sound of metal on metal. The pipe in front of her father slowly slid in half as he sheathed the sword.

"Oh my god, I'm going to die aren't I," she said, her eyes fixated on the half pipe lying defeated on the floor.

Her father turned around, one eyebrow raised.

"You are a strange child," he said. His gaze started at her feet and slowly worked its way to her pigtail. "What are you wearing?"

She spread her arms, "This is what I wear to train in."

His eyebrows were raised, eyes wide. An expression that said it all, _There is no way you can be child._

"Okay, that's no fair. I have never done this before and you have always been extremely vague," she said, her hands on her hips.

He only shook his head and pointed to the spot next to him. "Stand here."

Persephone obliged, briefly realizing how tall her father was.

"So are you going to teach me how to use a sword?"

"No."

"How to fight?"

"No."

"Who taught you how to fight?" she asked.

"Your grandfather briefly, then I had to teach myself," he replied, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"What are you doing?" she asked and attempted to step away, but her father held her firmly in place. He closed his eyes and let out a long breath. Suddenly a jolt went through her system causing her skin to crawl and her vision darken. In a hidden crevasse of her soul, she felt a stirring. But as quickly as the moment had come it had passed and she found herself staring into her father's eyes that were misting with blue light. Only his grip on her shoulders kept her from jumping away from him.

"Did you feel that?" he asked.

She nodded and he let her go.

"That entity is always inside of you, always looking for a way out. Remember the feeling. You need learn how to control it so that you don't transform unwittingly," he said and circled around her. Persephone spun around quickly, unsure of what he would do.

"Before you can you learn to fight, you must learn control. Remember the feeling of the demon, fight it when you need to, let it become you when you need it," he said, voice low.

She smiled. "I can do that. I don't want to transform again."

He shrugged. "Not surprising. I had hoped my children would be strong, but falling in love with a human only led to disappointment."

His words felt like a punch to the stomach.

"I am not weak. I have always pushed myself," she said.

"In school you mean? In dance? It's easy to think your strong when you mother and father have given you everything you could ever want. You have never felt pain before."

"I work hard," she said, stomping her foot.

"In pathetic, mortal pursuits," he said, turning his back to her. "Always a disappointment. If Sparda knew what his legacy would be, he would have never had children. You are nothing but a failure."

The edges of her vision began to turn red and she felt the sting of hot tears pricking her eyelids.

"So I should just be like you then?" she scoffed.

His shoulders shook with a low chuckle. "You could never be like me child. You're nothing special."

"I don't care. I knew you always felt this way, and I don't care," she hissed, but her stomach churned with his words. She imagined every disappointment he must have felt watching her grow up. Always silent, just watching.

"Oh, you care," he said and walked towards her. "And I shouldn't waste my time."

"Shut up!"

The stirring anger surged to the surface, splitting her skin apart as the hard blue skin replaced her own. She clenched her fists, relishing the feelings of her claws pressing into her palm. With a snarl, she lunged towards her father.

"Persephone," he said.

Her name echoed through her skull and she immediately halted her pursuit. Falling to her knees, she felt the anger drain from her body and in a flash of blue, she was herself again. She felt heavy and sick as she stared at her hands that only moments before wanted to tear into her father's throat.

"Dad…" she choked.

He knelt next to her. "I'm sorry I said those things, but you needed to know what your trigger is. We all have our weaknesses, and unfortunately, I know you better than anyone. You have always been afraid of embarrassment, failure, disappointing those around you. "

He took her hand and slowly led her to her feet.

"Now think back to your first trigger, what was it?" he asked.

"Cal was teasing me about some boy. He called me a freak," she said.

"A boy? What boy?" he said, his eyebrows snapping together as he stared her down.

"Really? That is what you are worried about," she said.

He left her with one last glare. "You're right. We'll talk about this later."

"What was your trigger? Your weakness?" she asked.

"I have none," he replied quickly and she scoffed.

Her father's expression became stony and she noticed his fingers lightly tapping on the hilt of his sword. When he turned his back to her, she thought the conversation was over and her question would linger between them.

"Power was my weakness. I spent most of my life trying to horde every bit of it. Ultimately, it's what led to my downfall," he said in his monotone voice.

"Why?" she asked then winced. Her father wasn't an open man, and her prying into his sordid past would most likely illicit a cold response.

Instead, he sighed.

"I watched my mother die. You can't protect yourself or anyone else without power. Or at least, that is what I thought," he said and turned towards her.

She felt the heat of guilt on her neck and glanced at her feet.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

To her surprise, she heard a sharp bark of laughter.

"Don't ask questions you aren't prepared to hear the answers to," he said, a half grin on his face. "Now do you remember that feeling ?"

"I think so," she replied, but in her heart she wanted to forget it.

"Good, now focus on it. Try to relive each moment leading up to it," he said.

Obediently, Persephone closed her eyes but she could feel her hands trembling. Every time she recalled the memories of her father's words and the feelings of pain, her mind drifted to watching her clawed hand reach for his throat and the feeling would crash like a wave against the shore of her fear. She clenched her fists to try to keep from shaking but she knew her father had seen it.

"Persephone, focus," he growled.

"I can't," she choked.

"If you think it's bad now just wait until you're ripping the throat out of one of your classmates," he snapped. She bit her lip.

"I don't want to do this," she cried and opened her eyes. Her father was inches from her face, his eyes dark.

"You don't have a choice," he hissed.

"Please don't make me do this. I don't want it," she pleaded.

Her father stepped back and tilted his head, regarding her again with his cold eyes. She swallowed hard, expecting the inevitable blow out.

Her entire body trembled as she whispered "no," and her back stiffened as she waited for him to say something or his smooth face to suddenly crack and send his anger pouring forth with a single expression that had stopped her in her tracks on many occasion. That was what always frightened Persephone about her father. He was always so expressionless, removing from the observer any ability to discern his thoughts. So the few moments when the façade broke were a potent dose of realization that you had truly done something wrong.

Instead, his face remained unmoved. No anger, no disappointment; he regarded her no more than he would the wall next to him. Wordlessly, he turned his back to her and away. She ran a trembling hand through her hair unsure if she should feel relieved or ashamed.

"Dad, wait," she called.

He kept walking, his footsteps making soft thuds on the wooden stairs to the first floor.

"Dad!" she called again and started towards him. That's when she heard the door slam shut and the lock click in place.

"Dad?" she said as she darted up the stairs and to the door. Futilely, she tried to the door knob and met the stop of the lock. Persephone slammed her fist into the door and was met with a sudden jolt and loud crack of electricity. Yelping, she clutched her slightly singed fist to her chest.

"The door has been magicked. Keep doing that and you'll really hurt yourself," her father's muffled voice said through the door.

"What the hell!"

"Think of it as motivation. You're not getting out of there until you figure out how to control it."

"This is child abuse."

"Demons don't have child protective services," he replied and she heard his footsteps walk away.

"You cannot be serious. What am I supposed to do?" she yelled. No response.

"I'm going to bust a window, that's what I'm going to do," she mumbled and stomped down the stairs. She looked at the windows and nearly screamed. Bars that had never been there before, crossed the glass, blocking her exit. With a huff, she plopped herself on the concrete floor.

"Just fucking perfect," she hissed. "Now what am I supposed to do?"

_You could give it shot._

"And why would I do that?"

_You want your freedom._

She breathed deeply and closed her eyes again. In her mind, she was in the dance studio. Her reflection in the mirror blurred past her with every turn, silver hair whipping across her face. It was calm in that world. Everything was in perfect balance, as if she could spin forever and never fall. Her favorite moments when she danced were those unstoppable seconds when you flowed from each movement and into the next motion. No thoughts, no insecurities, just the surety of your body and soul knowing where it should be. Nothing felt more powerful than letting everything go and becoming not a person dancing, but a force of nature.

There was a flash of blue in the reflection, on the next turn it disappeared, and in the next she saw it again with black eyes staring back. She felt the bubble in her stomach but kept spinning, wanting more than anything to grasp that unmarred blur of before. But with each rotation it pushed itself away and she was left clinging to it with white knuckles.

_You don't have a choice. This is you now._

The rage began forcing its way up, threatening to overwhelm her. She felt herself waver for a brief second before she returned to her center. She was slipping.

_You can't stop me, _her reflection whispered.

Persephone put her foot down and stopped her spin. Her reflection stared back at her with eyes black as a depthless pit. This thing would follow her for the entirety of her life. She could feel it, sitting like a heavy stone on her soul. As she fought, it only pressed harder, confining her. She would never be able to let go again, but would fight it for the rest of her life.

_I'm not trying to anymore_, she said. The rage spread gently through her and she watched as she transformed. Like ink dripping onto parchment, spots of blue appeared and spread, becoming hard scales that stretched like an elaborate cloth against her skin. Claws erupted from her fingers as two horns sprouted and curled around her skull until they rested on the base of her neck. Hardened pieces of black formed across her hips, torso, congealing into a swirled armor. With a crack, her teeth sprouted into sharp points hardly contained in her mouth. Her entire body shuddered as muscles and bone rearranged themselves into what felt like a web of tension barely containing her form. And when it was finished, she saw herself in the mirror, the rage subsiding into gentle thrum in her heart.

Lifting her hand, she watched herself move in the mirror. Her clawed hands were surprisingly graceful as she gently bent each finger and clenched her fists. A weight lifted off her chest as she realized _she_ was the one moving them. She was in charge of the alien body that was slowly becoming more familiar.

_It looks like you won. Make your blood proud, _her reflection said.

Persephone gasped and sat up from the concrete floor. Glancing at her hand, she saw her claws. Stilling her beating heart, she closed her eyes and willed it away, and in a flash of blue, her human fingers returned.

"You were always an excellent student," her father said, stepping out from behind one of the concrete pillars where he was leaning.

"So did I pass?" she said.

He shrugged. "This is easy in comparison."

Persephone reached inside herself, found the thrum of power in her heart and pulled it to the surface. She grinned at her father with sharpened teeth, rising effortless to her feet.

"Don't get cocky," he said his last words barely reaching her ears before he was gone in a blue blur and something heavy hit her in the back of the head. She tumbled forward, her form switching to normal as she fell to the floor.

"Ow," she said, clutching her now throbbing head.

"No good," he father said. "You're weak and it's going to get you killed."

She winced as she rubbed the lump forming on her head. "This is all a little brand new to me."

"Demons aren't going to care that you're child. Stop rubbing that. It won't heal with you fussing like a human," he said and dragged Persephone by her elbow to her feet. She blinked as her vision swirled, stumbling slightly forward. Like a demon from a pit, her stomach released a ferocious growl sending hot blood rushing to her cheeks. She glanced and nearly dropped to the floor at the site of his small smirk.

"I forgot about this part. You should have seen how much food your uncle and I ate when we were growing up. He still eats too much; it's why he's soft around the middle," he said and gently led her up the stairs.

She caught of whiff of meat roasting as she walked the hallway to the kitchen and her mouth began to water. Glancing at her father, she noted his sour face, his nose wrinkling at the smell. Her mother slowly stirred a pot at the stove, humming lightly.

"Hi, sweetie. Glad to see you in one piece," she said. "Beef and vegetable soup for dinner."

Persephone wrinkled her brow and glanced out the window framed by soft white curtains. The sun was soft with the slow onset of evening, shadows slowly creeping between the trees as it dipped lower towards the horizon.

"How long was I down there?" she asked, taking a seat at the small breakfast table.

"All day," her father said curtly and glanced disapprovingly at the pot of food.

"Don't glower at my food. She's been through enough and needs a hot meal. Besides, I wasn't the one hovering around the window making sure nothing happened," she said while pushing a loose curl behind her ear.

Her mother quickly ladled the soup into a bowl, framed it with a slice of bread and set it in front of Persephone. Persephone grabbed the spoon at the table and began shoveling the brown concoction into her mouth. Broth dribbled down her chin as she tore a bite from the bread, choking briefly when she finally inhaled. She never remembered feeling so hungry in her life. When only drops were left in her bowl, she leaned back but her stomach was hardly satisfied. Persephone realized her parents were smirking.

"Sorry," she said. "Is this normal?"

"For a while," her father said and took her empty bowl to fill again.

"Eat it more slowly this time," her mother said and sat across from her.

Persephone slowly spooned the soup into her mouth, eyeing her mother sitting and her father leaning against the chair next to her.

"So, can I ask questions?"

"If you must," her father replied.

"Dad, you watched your mom die. How did you survive?" she asked.

"Your uncle and I ran. He got away when the demons started chasing me. I had to fight my way through them. Honestly, I don't remember much except finding myself far away. I lived on the street, occasionally finding someone willing to take me in…" he trailed off.

She waited a moment as he seemed lost in thought. "And then what?"

"Then I started looking."

"For what?" she said letting her spoon clatter into her empty bowl.

He paused for a moment his eyes flicking between her and some far off memory.

"Nothing good," he finally said.

"That's not a good answer," she said with a frown.

"I went looking for power. In the process, I raised a tower that would open a portal to hell so that I could retrieve my father's. That's when I was sealed in hell. You don't need to know the rest," he said, his eyes hard.

"Did you really stab uncle Dante?"

"To be fair, he stabbed me a number of times as well. He killed me once actually," he said.

Persephone let his words hang in the air for a moment, unsure of how to respond.

"How did you meet mom if you were dead?"

"We met in hell," her mother responded. "I was taken there to be made into a demon. Your father was there and rescued me."

Persephone could feel her brain struggling to grasp what they were saying, the gears jerkily turning in its attempt to make sense of their words.

"So, I'm really not sure how all that is possible. People just pop in an out of hell all the time?" she sputtered. She imagined little red cartoon demons with black horns and pitch forks leaping from firey holes in the ground.

"It's not as easy as it sounds," her mother replied.

A singled question bubbled up from the depths of her mind and roared to the front of her consciousness.

"Am I going to hell? When I die, am I going to hell?" she asked, her heart suddenly racing.

It was her father who grabbed her clenched fist and forced her eyes to his.

"No," he said firmly. "You don't belong there and so long as I am alive you will never go back."

_Back_, that word struck her hard. "What do you mean go back?" she asked.

He blinked suddenly and swung his head towards her mother who sat with wide eyes. She pursed her lips and pushd a red curl behind her ear before exhaling.

"You may have been taken to hell when you were a baby," she said slowly.

Persephone shot up from the table her mind scrambling for any memories of that time, only to come up short.

"I was in hell?" she shouted to no one in particular as if the universe needed to hear her say it.

"Just a short time and you were with me. A demon may or may not have been looking to use you as his ultimate weapon. But your father and uncle rescued us," her mother said forcing a smile as if the explanation was perfectly normal.

"I was in hell," Persephone stated again.

"You really need to handle information better. There are far more stories to come," her father said almost bored.

"How are you so calm about this?" she said, slightly shrill.

"We don't know any better," her father said. "And you won't either, eventually."

Persephone gently wrapped the table with her knuckles and pursed her lips. She opened her mouth to say something but found there was nothing. Instead, she turned around and walked away, up the stairs and to her room.

Evangeline looked at Vergil who appeared more bemused than anything else.

"You think she will be ok?" she asked. "That was a lot to take in."

"She'll be fine. Humans just take longer to accept the truth," he replied, sitting down.

"You still say that. Humans as if you aren't more human than demon," Evangeline replied nudging him with her foot under the table. They both looked up when the heard the loud thrum of music from upstairs.

"Clearly, I don't find all of you to be so disagreeable," he said. "Didn't you forget to pick up the boys?"

Evangeline shot out of her chair and out the door.

######################

Evangeline watched from her overstuffed chair as Vergil rubbed his forehead, no doubt fighting the urge to go upstairs and destroy Persephone's blasted stereo. Even the boys had taken refuge downstairs to avoid the assault of rock, pop and an overwhelming amount of Disney music that the young devil was singing along to. She had warned him sternly to leave her be after their daughter had hid away in her room. The four had gathered in the living room around the coffee table. Caleb was earnestly watching his father from the floor as Vergil slowly polished Yamato from his favorite seat at the head of the table. Gabriel sat opposite his brother on the couch, surrounded by equation scribbled papers that were beginning to spill onto the floor. Eventually, Vergil shook his head with a grunt, sending a few stray hairs over his eyes as he returned to polishing his sword. Caleb furtively attempted to touch the tip of the blade with one finger only to have his knuckles firmly smacked with the sheath before he could even blink. He yelped once and clutched his hand then stared at his father, grinning widely.

"That is so cool. How did you get so fast?" he said, awe permeating every sound.

"I was always fast," Vergil replied with a slight smirk. "But if you touch Yamato again I'm removing the hand."

"Please just once. I'm a descendent of Sparda too," he begged.

"He's got you there," Evangeline murmured.

Vergil scowled, but his eyes betrayed him. She could see the elation at this son's eagerness to learn more. He had been waiting for that moment since Persephone's birth. Vergil flipped the handle towards Caleb sitting on the floor in one swift motion. Caleb's blue eyes grew wide as he gingerly lifted the blade, examining each edge and curve closely. Gabriel moved from his position on the couch crouched over his homework to his brother's side. He touched the handle gently and Evangeline saw a flash of blue.

"Does it always glow?" Gabriel asked.

"What do you mean? It's not glowing," Caleb snorted.

"Yes it is! You just can't see it."

Caleb looked towards Evangeline, his eyes pleading.

"Sorry, sweetie. He's right. Gabriel, leave your brother be," she said and Gabriel resumed his position on the couch, Caleb's angry eyes following him.

"Aunt Trish said she was going to teach Gabe magic. What do I get to learn?" Caleb asked as Vergil took Yamato back.

"We'll think of something. Your aunt Lady hunts demons and she's just as fragile as you," Vergil said.

Caleb's smart remark was cut short with a knock on the door. Evangeline stood up, patting Caleb's head as walked past him. She yawned and opened the door coming face to face with a young pair of brown eyes. His face was well formed with a strong jaw, high cheek bones and slightly hooked nose framed by messy black hair. Evangeline smiled, raising her eyebrows at the handsome young man.

"Why hello there. What brings you to my door so late," she asked, slightly purring.

The young man's eyes widened and he stammered for a moment before finally gathering his wits.

"Hello, Mrs. Sparda. Um, I'm Mark, Persephone's chemistry partner. They asked me to bring her homework here," he said, forcing a grin.

Evangeline laughed. "Mark if I were years younger you would not still be standing in that doorway. Well, that and I'm married, but I'm happy my daughter has such a handsome friend. Do you want to come in?"

"I'm not really sure. Yes, please?" he said stepping into the foyer.

Evangeline stepped to the side. "Don't worry. I don't bite but I do tease. I'll call her down."

Caleb suddenly ran around the corner, nearly running into his mother.

"You're Mark aren't you? Here to see Persephone?" he said quickly, interrupting Evangeline.

"Yeah," Mark said nervously. "I'm not sure which twin you are."

"Oh, I'm Caleb. But better than that, I'll take you up to Persephone's room," he said and grabbed Mark's arm, nearly dragging him up the stairs.

Evangeline stepped into the living room again. Vergil looked up and narrowed his eyes.

"Who was that?"

"A very sexy young man looking for our daughter. I flirted, but alas it was not meant to be," Evangeline said, falling dramatically into her chair.

Vergil looked down at his sword. "I'm hardly worried."

##############################

Caleb let go of Mark's arm about halfway up the stairs and let the young man follow him slowly. Mark's eyes darted warily around, unsure of what to do.

"So you transferred right?" Caleb said. He could hear his sister's music get louder the closer he came to her door.

"Yeah, from public school," he replied. They stopped in front of her door and paused. Caleb listened closely as the music switched to Beauty in the Beast.

"Are you going to knock?" Mark asked.

Caleb raised a finger. "Just wait."

The music went to a crescendo _…."TALE AS OLD AS TIME."_

Caleb swung the door open to reveal Persephone standing on the bed, mouth wide open as she belted out the chorus, her back to the door. She spun around and her eyes grew wide as she saw a maniacally grinning Caleb next to a staring Mark. Persephone stumbled from the bed and onto her knees, crawling to the radio on her desk and slamming her hand onto the power button.

"Caleb!" she growled and stood up, her cheeks hot.

Caleb ran from the door, laughing down the stairs before she could think to go after him, leaving her alone with Mark and her embarrassment. His bewildered brown eyes stared at Persephone as she held her breath with expectation. Then he started laughing softly and she felt her face flush anew.

He waved his hand and stopped laughing, the smile still on his face.

"No, no don't be embarrassed. I'm sorry I laughed," he said.

Her knees went weak. "I am so sorry. He is a monster."

He set the books in his hand on the nightstand and walked over to her, placing both hands on her shoulders.

"Really, don't be embarrassed. It was good and everyone needs a good sing-along once in a while," he said. Persephone felt a knot in her stomach and her skin flush where he touched her.

"It was my favorite when I was a kid. Sometimes dad would sing the male part when he thought no one else was around. Of course, he won't admit it anymore," she said.

Mark flashed his wide smile again and she noticed his slightly crooked incisor.

"Do you need a duet partner?" he asked.

"No, no. I think we have had sufficient embarrassment for the night. Um, why are you here?" she said. He dropped his arms and she was surprised at her disappointment.

"Your friends thought I should drop off your homework," he said.

"Of course they did," Persephone sighed walked over to her bed, sitting heavily while picking up the books from her nightstand.

"I guess you're feeling better," he said, eyeing the many awards that adorned her walls. "Wow, you have a lot of these."

"People think I'm perfect, yet I still make a fool of myself," she said. He joined her on the bed, his knee brushing hers slightly as he sat. Her skin flushed again and she began to hear a fluttering noise in her ears.

"So, your mom is interesting. I think she was hitting on me," he said finally.

Persephone almost couldn't hear him over the strum in her ears. She watched him move his head as he examined her bedroom, watching the small curls that formed on the base of his hairline while the rest fell straight around his ears. The skin on his neck looked soft and warm and she felt the urge to reach out and touch it. She blinked, still feeling flushed, but the urge to make contact subsided.

"Do you want to study?" she mumbled quickly, wanting him to look at her so she could no longer stare. Instead, she was forced to look into his large brown eyes and the slight crinkle of a smile in the corners. He grinned.

"Sure," he said.

"No, you don't," her father's voice rumbled.

The two of the them jumped and Mark shot off the bed, his fists clenched tightly.

"It's late, you should be heading home," Vergil said, his voice carrying no tone. It nearly made Persephone shiver at the sound. She watched Mark's back begin to relax as he returned her father's steely gaze with a much softer, yet determined look.

"Whatever you say, sir." He turned to Persephone. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, thanks for dropping off my homework," she said. Vergil blocked half the doorway, causing Mark to have to skirt around the much larger man. He stared after him until the front door opened and closed. He turned his gaze to Persephone.

"Yes?" she asked.

"You don't think I know what you were thinking?" he said, crossing his arms.

"You were thinking about chemistry too," Persephone said, leaning back.

"If I were uncle I would say something along the lines of biology not chemistry, but I'm better than that. Keep your eyes off little boys and think about your training more," he said.

Persephone sat up and crossed her arms, staring him down. "Or what?"

Her father blinked, his version of surprise. "You're smarter than to say something like that."

"I know, but it's fun to tease. Don't worry about it. I will be your little princess demon," she said.

"Try just being a demon. Tomorrow we start your combat training and it won't be pleasant," he said.

"What about school?" she said, standing up.

"Is that boy one of your classmates?"

"Yes."

"Then you aren't going to school."

##############################

Mark rounded the corner two blocks away before he began running as fast as his legs would carry him. About a mile away, he climbed through a large hole in a fence that led to a deserted construction site, the equipment still standing as if waiting for the ghosts of their former workers. He leaned against one of the bulldozers, attempting to catch his breath and steady his knees. A hand landed on his shoulder and he nearly jumped out of his skin.

Jon was grinning from ear to ear.

"God, man. You should see your face," he said.

Mark straightened up, pulling the red stone from his pocket.

"I thought this thing was going to burn a hole. Every single one of them. But you would never know. They were so normal," he breathed.

"You were there for a while. What did you find out?" Jon asked as the others began to join them.

"The one posing as the father. Definitely, powerful. I thought I was going to die but he just told me to leave," Mark said.

"Why?" Rose asked. "Did he know?"

"If I didn't know any better, I think he was trying to keep me from his daughter," Mark laughed. "They took a lot time constructing identities. Pictures and everything."

"What do they want?"

"I don't know. Maybe getting people to trust them is how they get the upper hand. I thought Mara was going to draw them away?"

Rose snorted. "I tried calling. She told me to be patient, that other plans had happened. She said you should keep it up so they won't suspect you are up to something."

Mark felt his insides quiver slightly at the same time his heart leapt into his throat. He saw Persephone's blue eyes staring at him with embarrassment then how soft they had grown. The stone was burning against his leg the whole time but he had felt a flutter when they sat together. He couldn't imagine a demon behind those eyes, but devils were the spawn of deceit. Even with knowing that, he still wanted to see those eyes again and felt guilty.

##############################

Mara stared at the torn marble at her feet, her lip curling into a snarl.

"You said it would be here," she said, turning to the demon on her right. It was nothing more than a wisp of smoke forming the vague semblance of a human shape. It shifted slightly, appearing uncomfortable.

"This is where the documents pointed to. Of course, the historian had different interpretations…" it said, its voice a whisper in her head.

"He won't like hearing of your failure again," she said, rubbing her forehead. "I suggest you go back to the books and look again."

"Half the diggers are exhausted. They need more time," it whispered.

"I don't care!" she shouted, her voice bouncing off the stone arches that stretched high above. "Find me the grave or I find someone else and send you straight back to my father."

Her boots echoed across the ruined room, kicking up the dust and rubble of another delay. She could feel her father's presence burning in her chest and cursed again the mortal body encompassing her heart.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Suggestions are welcome. Thanks, and peace.<strong>_


	7. Chapter 7: It Isn't Easy Being Blue

_**I'm on a roll. Enjoy and feel free to review!**_

* * *

><p>The corridors were bathed in a harsh red light, dim enough that walls were partially hidden in shadows. Every step echoed in each direction, loud enough to wake the dead. Her shaky hand followed the path of the wall, scraping against crumbling brick. The further she walked, the closer a hulking black mass become until she stood in the shadow of its bulk, watching its massive horned helm rise and fall with every breath. It turned around, bearing its red eyes down upon her.<p>

"Will you find me?" it rumbled, the noise reverberating through her heart.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice only a whisper.

"I left it to be found."

A scream filled the tunnel, tearing the world apart into darkness.

Persephone shot up from her bed, falling to the floor her knees slick with sweat. Gasping, she lifted he head to see the sun just barely lighting the night. Leaning against the bed, she sighed and stretched out her legs, the scream lingering in her ears and she wondered if she would ever have a full night's sleep again.

##########################

He sat up from the bed, and ran his hands through his hair. Sleep had evaded him for the past two hours and the sound of Rose's breathing next to him nearly caused him to leap from the window to get some quiet. No matter how hard he tried to calm his mind, it kept up a never ending film of Persephone and demons rolling. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something but knew he had to be right. Demons were demons; he saw it firsthand. His parents had trusted the man who came to do their door, the gentle pastor with blue eyes who only wanted to talk. Instead, at midnight he ripped them apart as Mark hid in his closet, hiding under a pile of toys. Through the slots of the closet he could see the inhumanely blue eyes as it licked the blood from its fangs.

They were deceivers. They were killers. They deserved to be killed.

But her smile lingered in each thought and all he felt was doubt. Whether he was right, whether he was now the hunted, becoming entrapped in their web. But he knew better, didn't he?

"Are you alright, baby," Rose groaned, wrapping her arm around his waist.

"Shut up you two," another sleepy companion called from his cot adjacent to theirs.

"I'll be fine," Mark replied.

"You don't have to keep doing this. We can find another way," she said.

"It's fine. She already trusts me. They won't expect it. I just wish Mara would hurry up. I don't want them to make a move," he said and lay back down.

"She's still paying us. I don't know what she is planning to do to separate them, but she warned us it may take a while for her to set things up," Rose said, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm beginning to doubt this whole situation," he said, turning his back to the young woman.

"We kill demons. No matter what it takes. Are you getting too close," she hissed into his back.

Mark's lip curled into a snarl and he fought the anger in his chest.

"I not forgetting what they are. I can't forget. I know better than you what they can pretend to be," he said, closing his eyes. He saw blue eyes again, not of the preacher, but the smiling girl.

###############################

Dante grinned from his spot at his desk, his leg bouncing anxiously. He hadn't felt this excited in a long while. He imagined, like Vergil, that he had planned this day for sixteen years. Neatly arranged on the desk and floor was an array of different weapons, some blades, some maces, some indescribable, all demonic. More than he had ever used but somehow amassed during his time on earth. It was wonderful, made all the more glorious that they would find someone who could use them as they were meant to be. He nearly felt like weeping with joy.

"Is she here yet," Lady asked, descending the stairs.

"Not yet," he said as the front door creaked open and Vergil stepped through, follow slowly by Persephone. Dante laughed out loud when he realized they matched. Black pants, blue jacket as if Vergil had cloned himself. Persephone looked tiny next to her father, his mass easily overwhelming her skinny frame. Dante always thought she was strong, seeing her launch herself into the air for a perfect flip or holding a position for an hour just to get it perfect, but looking at her it was hard to see.

Worry rushed into his chest and he wondered if she could do it, or would she be simply not strong enough. Then father and daughter trained their blue eyes on Dante, glowering at his laughter and he felt foolish for his doubt. She was Vergil's child; the demons didn't stand a chance.

"What's so funny?" Persephone asked.

"Just thinking how cute your two are," Dante replied, getting up from his desk.

Persephone's eyes fell on the weapons covering the surface of the desk and the surrounding floor. Her eyes widened briefly before they darted towards her father who smirked.

"This is the hard part you were talking about, isn't it?" she asked.

"Hard for you," Vergil said and picked up a scimitar from the floor, the black gems on the handle glinting in the dim light. "Fun for the rest of us."

"I don't know how to fight. Remember that karate class you wanted me to take?" she stammered, stepping back as Vergil took an experimental swing with the blade.

"You'll learn. The demonic blood with help; it knows how to survive. The rest, we'll teach you," he said, setting the blade down.

Persephone bit her lip and clasped her hands, unsure of what to do with them. Her uncle and father picked their way through the weapons like a child would through his toy box. She couldn't recall seeing her father more relaxed. Lady walked over to Persephone and gave her hands a quick squeeze. She always thought her aunt was one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen, but also, a complete enigma. Like everyone else in her life, she was seemingly eternally young but her style had toned down remarkably from when Persephone was a child. And despite knowing Lady her entire life, she actually knew absolutely nothing. The questions Persephone had were nearly overwhelming.

"Don't worry so much. You were made to do this," she said, smiling softly.

"Yeah. Nero never had a teacher and he turned out ok. Kind of sloppy, but decent. Too bad you don't have his arm. That thing was mighty handy on occasion," Dante said, swinging mace towards Vergil's head who easily ducked out of the way.

"Nero is flawed. The human and demon should be seamlessly combined," Vergil replied, dodging another swing from his brother. His fist shot out from his waist and Dante jumped backwards, laughing.

"Didn't I meet him at my 10th birthday? What is he like a cousin or something?" she asked the fuzzy memory of the cocky man coming to mind. Her ten year old brain had only glazed over Nero's similarities to her family, thinking nothing much of the stranger.

Dante and Vergil exchanged glances, halting their mock sparring.

"We don't really know," Dante said said slowly.

Persephone spread her hands. "Seriously? You have no idea if grandpa has an illegitimate child. How many halflings are running around? Do you all just go around making little bastards? Dad, does mom know about the demonic inclinations?"

"Trust me, your mother's sexual exploits far exceed my own even as a human," her father replied, completely unphased by her question. Persephone grimaced at the thought.

"Yeah, she made her way around. First person who could ever say she slept with both sons of Sparda," Dante said, throwing back his head and laughing.

Persephone wrinkled her nose, attempting to keep the mental image out of her mind.

"Ew," she said, curtly.

"She had a good reason," her father said, glaring at his brother.

"Yeah, the reason being I'm sexy as hell," Dante retorted, raising his eyebrows. Her father never rolled his eyes, that method was far too base for him to show his ambivalence. Instead, he stared, the same bored expression someone would have towards the sidewalk that they walked upon, before turning back towards Persephone.

"Are you ready?" he asked, eyeing her closely.

"Well, I'm a little emotionally scarred at the moment," she replied. He only raised an eyebrow and tilted his head towards Dante, indicating she should stand in front of the desk.

Persephone bit the inside of the cheek as she stepped forward, eyeing the displayed weapons carefully. They came in every shape possible, some she couldn't even begin to place into the categories of her limited knowledge. The edges and tips seemed to flash in her vision and she wondered if she were seeing things when a slow buzz began to emanate from the many crafted metals. It briefly took her breath away as it grew stronger until she could feel it in her toes. She began to taste blood from biting her cheek so hard as a nervous flutter formed in her stomach. She could have been reading Sanskrit and it would have felt more familiar. It was all so alien, yet her father, uncle, and aunt stared expectantly waiting for something she couldn't understand.

"What am I supposed to do?" she finally asked.

"Choose the one that calls to your demonic soul," he father said matter-of-factly, as if the answer was as obvious as two plus two.

Persephone breathed in and slowly let it out, feeling her mind steady as she reached inside for that newly ever-present feeling of power that sat just below the surface. It spread through her easily, eagerly awaiting the moment it was summoned. At first nothing changed, then she began to see waves emanate off the weapons, like concrete on a hot summer day. Slowly, the blades began to glow, soft at first, then the light became brighter, stinging her eyes. Each seemed to have its own color, its own essence that transformed the light surrounding it. She stared at a large axe that glowed a brown green, the light from it looking almost sickly, and she shied away from it. Another, a long and elegant rapier, flashed purple, its light blinking in and out as she watched. Sitting next to it was a small dagger letting off a weak blue. Watching it, she felt a suddenly pang of sorrow and an unexplainable feeling of loss.

The mosaic of colors and lights seemed to all blend together, growing more intense until she had to close her eyes. She could almost hear whispers, as if they were reaching for her, speaking their stories. Persephone walked slowly along the circumference, examining each weapon until the whispers and buzzing stopped, halting her steps. At her feet were two blades of equal size in their scabbards, bound together with a ribbon of gold silk. She kneeled down and gently lifted the blades into her hands, their smooth lacquered sheaths warm in her palms. The hilt of one was elaborately decorated with silver and lapis lazuli, forming intricate patterns of blue flowers, but the leather of the grip was well worn and dirty. The second was simply made of warm wood with a single polished gold bulb for a pommel. They glowed together a deep, pure white that was both comforting and saddening. She felt the urge to clutch them to her chest so that they may never be separated.

"That is interesting," Dante said, kneeling next Persephone.

"Why is that?" she asked, undoing the yellow ribbon. She unsheathed the silver blade, examining the blade that was about a foot and half long, sharp and thin.

"Those blades were owned by a Lord and Lady who they said were very much in love. But in order to protect her lands and save her people, the Lady sold her soul and slowly became insane and corrupt. Before it finally took complete control, she begged her Lord to kill her with his blade. After he did, he took her blade and killed himself, unable to live without her. The blades become infused with the demonic essence inside of her and their sacrifice of love," he said and lifted the Lord's blade with the wooden handle. "They can never be separated. Watch."

He threw the blade across the floor. It arched away from its trajectory and came whirling back towards Persephone. She yelped once before her uncle easily snatched it out of the air inches from her face, and presented it to her.

"Those are tame compared to the others, but strong. Kind of wish you would have picked the battle axe. My sword and Vergil's were heirlooms from our father. But the most important sword is this one," Dante said as he climbed to his feet and darted to the wall behind his desk retrieving an absurdly large sword. The blade was nearly as tall as her, wickedly curved into an arch and was attached to a flesh like base with a large red jewel towards the hilt.

"This my dear, dear niece, is your grandfather's sword, infused with his power," Dante said, grinning from ear to ear as he held out the blade. Persephone cautiously took the sword from his hands and felt a shock run through her system and immediately handed the sword back.

"That sword, is powerful. Not for just normal use and definitely not for you," her father said as Dante returned it to its space on the wall.

"So I don't get a sword from grandpa," she said, taking notice of the katana at her father's side.

"Not yet," her father replied. Dante grabbed the large sword on his back and laughed. She heard the click of pistol's safety and felt her aunt move behind her as her father drew his sword with a single ring of metal.

Persephone's body suddenly tensed and she felt a roaring from the depths of her soul as she swung to the side to avoid her father's blade coming towards her, stumbling over her uncle's foot who was suddenly standing next to her. Her knees and hands scrambled against the splintered wooden floors as she righted herself to face her assaulters. Her father and uncle stood next to one another, blades drawn and trained on her, both grinning.

"What the hell!" she cried, clutching the Lord and Lady blades to her chest.

"Immersion therapy," Dante said.

"You could have killed me," she shot back.

"You would be dead if that's what we wanted," her father said. "This is training."

"I don't know how to fight! I can't attack you."

"Then I guess you need to learn how to run very fast," he replied and disappeared in a blue blur. Persephone blinked once before ducking, feeling him behind her, the roaring sensation beginning to fill every muscle, bone and sinew. The blade whizzed past above her and she darted forward only to be blocked by her uncle's hulking mass who effortlessly elbowed her in the chest, causing the wind to rush from her lungs. She heard the click of gun's trigger and without thinking turned her head to the side, avoiding the bullet as it brushed by her hair. As one part of her mind panicked, another part was calm, moving her nearly without thought, responding to each sound and motion.

Dante took her moment with the bullet to encroach upon her, thrusting the sword directly towards her face. She quickly stepped to the side and forward, only to run directly into his fist and her vision went black for a moment. Reaching for her eye, she remembered she was still holding the two blades. With one hand, she scrambled to remove the sheathes, sending them clattering the floor. Clumsily, she held the two weapons completely unsure of what to do with them. Dante laughed and she nearly wanted to scream. He was enjoying this.

The anger hit her like another of Dante's elbows in her torso and she spun towards her father who slowly circled around her, his hand on the hilt of his sword which was now sheathed. She remembered the pole in the basement of their home and knew he would do the same to her. In one swift motion he unsheathed the sword and brought it towards her in a deadly arc. She crossed the two blades in front of her in an X and brought them towards his descending attack, catching his sword with her two. The impact shocked her arms and she nearly dropped her weapons. Scissoring her blades, she pushed his sword away and shifted to his side, keeping her eyes locked on his as she brought the silver blade up swipe at his torso. He easily jumped up and away from her, leaving only open air for her to hit. As he fell back to the earth, his boot connected with her mouth and she felt her lip split and blood gush into her mouth.

"Always expect there will be another attack," he said and slashed at her.

Persephone ignored the pain of mouth and flipped to the side, the movement easier for her than it had ever been. She landed next to Lady who blinked in surprise from behind her gun as she spun and brought a knee up and into her rib. Lady doubled over with a grunt and Persephone spun on one foot towards her uncle and father.

"Oh, nice one," Dante said. "A little mean picking on the human, though."

Persephone held the blades on either side of her body, feeling them hum gently in her hands. Her uncle rushed towards her in a red blur, colliding into her and she let go of the silver blade sending it flying past his head. He pinned her against the wall with one arm, grinning widely.

"And that last move was so impressive. One trick pony?" he said.

"Oh, I have another," she said as the silver blade circled back. Dante twisted to the side with her, barely avoiding the flying sword returning to its partner. It stuck into the wall next her and as she grabbed it with her free hand she thrust the other towards the off balanced devil hunter.

He easily smacked it away with his own sword, but he was sent backwards and away from her, smiling the entire time. A familiar tingling climbed up her neck and she dropped to her knees, spinning on them around her father and swiping the blades crosswise across the back of this calves. He grunted in surprise as she rolled onto her feet. Blood dripped from his wounds and mortification overtook her.

"I am so sorry," she said on instinct, lowering her blades.

"Never apologize to your enemies," her father replied, righting himself as if it had never happened. He smiled at her and she saw something in his eyes she had never experienced before.

Pride.

"I don't know Verg, I think we're being a little too easy on her," Dante said, joining his brother in front of her.

"I think you might be right. You better hope all those dance and gymnastics classes paid off," her father said. Persephone felt her stomach drop as the two of them exchanged glances and in a second they were rushing towards her, a blur of red, blue and flashing blades.

##############################

The thumping of her fingers against the makeshift desk echoed through the small room. Mara rubbed her forehead with other hand, feeling the warm spot in the middle and struggling with the urge to reach out. The sound of the workers with their hammers and pick axes could be heard faintly through the large wooden door that separated the room from the main hall. It was nearly falling apart, but they had done a decent job of removing the worse of the rubble, making it liveable. When she had first turned her nose up at the living arrangements, she had secretly cursed herself for wanting human comforts.

A blue mist leaked into the room from under the door, taking on a human shape in front of her desk.

"Any news," she asked.

"Nothing yet. Perhaps the work would go faster if demons…." It whispered.

"No demons," she said, cutting it off. "They don't take kindly to humans giving orders."

"But you are not human," it replied and Mara almost smiled.

"That's sweet, but completely untrue. But not for long. When I find the tomb, they will come."

"Are you finished with your preparations for them?"

"Why the curiosity. Do you doubt me?" she asked, leaning forward.

"Never, mistress."

"They can't know until it is too late, so be patient," she said. The mist writhed before disappearing under the door again.

She glanced at the photographs she had setup on her desk as a reminder, and as punishment. A smiling coupling with a frowning blonde child and an older man, standing proudly at a dig site. She recalled the splash of blood on marble and smiled.

#################################

Evangeline glanced at the spell book in front of her, eyes growing heavy. It described conjuring fire with the power of one's mind with a long detail explanation of meditation techniques.

"You aren't very good at this are you?" Gabriel said, looking over her shoulder.

"Quiet," she grumbled. In truth, he was correct. Her mastery of her powers was limited to viewing the world and seeing demons. On great occasion she had scryed for Vergil, locating demons or missing people, but it had often left her drained. Sometimes, her brother would appear to her or Eva, showing her something Vergil or Dante needed but only when she was not distracted by day to day life. Vergil had told her when they were first together to make herself useful, but she can't say she had lived up to her end of the bargain.

"It's complicated and I'm sorry I am not better at this," she said.

"That's ok, Aunt Trish said she can teach me," he replied.

Evangeline looked at the silver haired boy who stared contemplatively at the book, his eyes deciphering every word with a ferocious hunger. It reminded her of Vergil tracking an enemy. It still struck her how much her twins looked like him, but sometimes she would see in the shape of their face or some aspect of her in the way they tilted their heads or laughed.

"I'll teach you how to figure out what you see. It's easy to not see separations between demons or items. You can almost see entire stories and if you have a good spirit guide, they can even point you in the right direction," she said.

"What's your spirit guide?" he asked, staring at a spot on the kitchen table.

"My brother. I guess I never told you that I'm a twin too," she said. A sudden flash and small flame erupted on the kitchen table and quickly went out. Gabriel grinned. Persephone slowly clapped, nodding at the display.

"Very nice," she said and grabbed her son's face in her hands to plant a large kiss on his cheek. He squirmed away.

"When do I get to do something," Caleb asked as he entered the room, frowning. Evangeline could feel his disappointment and despite being secretly glad he had turned out to be demon free, she knew the feeling of isolation he must be going through. Even his brother, his constant identical reflection was separating from him. More than anything, she wanted to make her youngest happy. He was the unexpected one, hiding behind his brother in the womb. His birth after Gabriel was a shocking surprise but she couldn't help but to be elated as she held them both. Her own twin was the love of her life and she was determined that Caleb and Gabriel would get it right. Even if the world fell around their ears, they would always have each other. It was her promise.

"You mean you want a kiss too, come here sweetie," she said, leaping to her feet . Caleb ducked into the kitchen as she followed after.

"Mom, stop!" he cried, picking up a wooden spoon from the counter and holding it in front of him like a sword.

"On guard," he said and swung the spoon at her. She grabbed a lid from the dirty dishes and blocked his swings.

"Haha, your spoon is useless," she said, dropping the lid and jumping deftly on top of the table with her bare feet.

Caleb darted into the other room as Evangeline leapt down, chasing after him running straight into an oncoming pillow. Caleb hid behind the chair next to a laughing Gabriel, winging pillows towards her, each managing to find her head no matter which way she dodged.

"God, Caleb. I forgot how good your aim was. Maybe you do have a little demon," she said from behind the couch, rubbing her slightly injured nose.

"Give up?" he asked, holding a cushion above his head.

"Not a chance," she grinned and leapt out from her hiding spot and rushing towards the chair. Caleb jumped out, laughing too hard to throw the pillow. Evangeline reached up and swiftly kissed her son the cheek before he smacked her with the pillow.

"I win," she said and he smiled. He grabbed her in a hug and she realized her head only reached his chest. _Too tall,_ she thought.

"I love you, mom," he said.

"I know you do. You know that you will find something. You don't have to be the one with the sword to make Sparda proud," she said, holding his face in her hands. He nodded, messy white hair bobbing up and down.

All three turned as door opened and Persephone entered chattering wildly, followed by her father and uncle. They grinned at the girl who waved her arms around excited.

"Hi, guys," Evangeline said and stepped into the foyer. Persephone looked towards her, clutching two swords at her side and Evangeline nearly hit the floor. Persephone's pretty face was marred by a large black and purple bruise around her eye, causing her eye to be held half shut. Her lip was split and still bleeding, her teeth stained faintly red from the blood. Amongst that were a myriad of small scratches , but despite it all she was smiling.

Evangeline took in each injury before turning towards Vergil, fists clenched tightly. Dante's smile quickly faded as her gaze turned towards him and he felt a slight quivery feeling in his stomach.

"What happened?" she hissed between clenched teeth.

"She was being taught how to fight," Vergil said coolly. Evangeline's hand snapped out and slapped him firmly across the face. His head hardly twitched and she knew it hurt her damned more than it hurt him.

"Beating the shit out of a sixteen year old is your idea of training?" she said, standing on her tiptoes to bring her face as close to his as possible. Her entire body trembled as she stared him down, as angry at him as the day he had left her all alone in the city of Fortuna. It was incomprehensible that he could ever raise a hand towards his daughter, let alone leave a mark.

Vergil placed his hands on his lover's shoulders, feeling her quake beneath him.

"Evangeline," he breathed. "I know his is difficult, but it needed to be done. You should have seen her."

Persephone stepped up and grabbed her mother's hand.

"Mom, I'm fine," she said, eyes dancing. "It was amazing. I totally got dad."

Evangeline turned her head towards her daughter who was smiling bigger than she had in a long time. She sighed and gently brushed a strand of hair away from Persephone's bruised blue eye.

"Are you sure you're ok?" she asked.

"I'm fine. Besides, Uncle Dante said it should be mostly gone by morning. It doesn't hurt that bad," she said.

"Why don't you go get cleaned up and I'll meet you in a while to put some ointment on it," Evangeline said and Persephone laughed and darted up the stairs, practically dancing.

Evangeline looked back towards Vergil who was staring towards their daughter prancing up the stairs to her room. He was smiling more than he had in a long time, as if every burden was removed from his shoulders.

"You're proud of her," she said and he looked down towards her.

"How could I not be. She drew blood," he said. She could feel his fingers playing with her hair and he pulled her towards him and she rested her head against his chest. His heartbeat was strong and she could feel every muscle relax as the tension of sixteen years of unknown futures melted away.

"Aww, that's sweet," Dante said. "It was more entertaining when you hit him."

"Yeah, do it again! That was awesome," Caleb shouted from the living room.

"Hey, I gotta talk to you about something," Dante said after his nephew and walked into the next room.

Evangeline looked up towards Vergil again who ran a thumb along her jaw.

"I'm so sorry. I made the wrong decision when I said we wouldn't tell them," she said the guilt heavy in her stomach. "You look so happy."

"I won't hold it against you. You're only human after all," he said with small smile. "But I never blamed you for it. You protected them, raised them well."

"Well, you did help a little bit," she said. He leaned down and kissed her the future clear and the present as it should be and as it should have been many years ago.

##############################

Persephone hummed slightly rubbing her hand over the condensation on the mirror to reveal her reflection. She leaned forward to examine the injuries on her face. Most of the tiny cuts had healed and her eye was no longer so swollen that she couldn't open it. Even the cut on her lip had already healed into a scab.

"Cool," she said. No more injuries for her but she winced when she moved. She opened her towel and glanced at her naked torso where a very large round bruise had formed. That one would smart for a while. She smiled and began to hum again as she pinned her wet hair up. Her body was buzzing slightly with the remnants of adrenaline and her head felt light with the thrill. She remembered each movement and nearly jumped out of her skin with excitement. It was probably the first time she had ever truly understood her father.

_Tale as old as time_, she sang the notes to herself. She remembered Mark laughing and her whole body became flushed. His handsome face stared at her and she could imagine the shape of his neck or how strong his arms looked under his uniform. She blinked and knew she hadn't thought of it before. But that thrum of anger was being pushed to the side as a new feeling rose to the surface, making her head swim and her neck burn. Her heart skipped a beat as she thought of his arms encircling her, his hand trailing from her shoulders and down her back. Persephone touched her stomach, enjoying the slight tingle.

There was a soft knock at the door and Persephone was snapped from her reverie.

"You decent?" her mother asked.

"Um, yeah. I'm in a towel but you can come in," she said.

Her mother opened the door and closed it behind her a small opaque bottle in one hand. She wiggled it at Persephone.

"Trish gave this to me a long time ago for your father. Supposedly works wonders on demons," she said. "Try not to mind the smell."

She began digging through Persephone's cabinets filled with various items from her and her brothers. Persephone hopped onto the counter, watching her mother rummage for cotton balls. Her mother was small but had enough curves to cause her father to stare when he thought no one was looking. Everyone told Persephone she looked exactly like her father, but when she turned her head she could see her mother's sharp cheek bones and her cockiness her smile. Aunt Lady and Trish were also beautiful women, inhumanely so, but that seemed to make more sense now. But their buxom appearance did nothing to make her feel better about her own attributes. Despite hearing how pretty she was, Persephone was always insecure with her body. Not with her weight, but rather her lack of weight in certain areas. Not that anyone was privy to her thoughts on the matter.

Her mother gave a shout of triumph when she found the cotton balls under the sink and shook some of the bottle's contents onto one. Persephone wrinkled her nose at the sharp smell of mint and something very rotten.

"I know it stinks. That's why I never used it," her mother said and patted the cotton ball around her bruised eye. Persephone winced slightly.

"So how did you and dad get together. I mean the real story, not the abridged version," Persephone asked. Her mother paused a cocked her head to the side.

"Why the interest?" she asked.

"You are two unlikely people, but he is completely and totally in love you," Persephone said with smile. Her mother laughed softly.

"Admittedly, it has been a little toned down since three of you," Evangeline replied with a sly smile.

"Ok, why is everyone talking about your sex life today," Persephone said, wincing gain at her mother's cotton ball, this time on her lip.

"What were they saying?" her mother asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Just that you had a lot sex with a lot of people…like uncle Dante."

"He never fails to bring that up, unbelievable," Evangeline muttered and returned to placing the ointment on Persephone's eye. It was warm and seemed to sooth some of the pain away.

"Well, your father was in hell after being defeated and then I arrived after they took me. It wasn't some love at first sight, but torture has a way of bonding people and we spoke of our mutual misery. I was ready to give up when he decided to save us. Killed a demon with his bare hands. We found an exit, but I need your father's sword and amulet which is why I slept with your uncle so I could steal it," she said. "Any other wounds?"

Persephone shook her head.

"I couldn't just leave him there so that's why I did it. Afterwards, it's not like either of us had anywhere else to go so I stuck around while he hunted demons. I guess he still needed to protect me, but really we needed each other. Someone to know what had happened, someone who understood. He seems cold, but really he needs to pretend to be because he feels things more than anyone else. It's almost overwhelming. I loved his resolve, his steadfastness and even the way he didn't make excuses for anything he did. Somewhere in all that we fell in love. Truthfully, I'm not just myself anymore. I need him and he needs me," she said, saying each word slowly as she contemplated it. "That and he has a great ass. You don't realize this, but he is incredibly attractive. You know, I never had to actually come up with reasons why. Love is something that you can explain how it feels, but why, that is completely different."

"Do you think I'll ever be in love? Find someone I can share this with?" Persephone asked. Her mother raised her eyebrow knowingly.

"I think you will. Why?" she said with a smile.

"Mom," Persephone sighed exasperated.

"Alright, I get you are demon and I can't imagine the hormones that brings. Did I ever talk to you about about safe sex?"

"Holy, hell," Persephone said and buried her face in her hands. Her mother laughed.

"I'm kidding. You know I can't help it. Any other questions," Evangeline replied.

Persephone pulled her hands away from her face and caught her mother's eyes, noting the dancing brown shadows in their depths.

"Do you ever think I'll be good at this? Dad and Dante weren't even trying and I was up a creek," she said.

Evangeline placed her hands on either side of her daughter, keeping her eyes firmly locked.

"Before I knew I was pregnant with you, I was infected with something terrible. It killed nearly every demon and almost killed me. I can't describe the horror of it, but despite that, you were unaffected. Shortly after you were born, you and I were taken to hell. He died, you survived. You survived more in the short months of life than many could ever say. So if you asked me if you are strong enough, I say yes. Your father wasn't always this strong but he learned, and so will you," she said. Persephone nodded slowly.

"Now get some sleep," her mother said and stepped away.

Persephone jumped off the counter as her mother walked out. She dropped her towel and grabbed the long cotton robe hanging on the back of the door. In the hallway, she could hear the sounds of her brothers talking with her uncle loudly with the occasionally punctuation by her father. She walked to her room and closed the door, heading to her phone still on the nightstand. The screen flashed multiple messages.

From Jane: _Feeling any better?_

From Mary Ann: _I totally heard about what happened yesterday. So embarrassing._

She scrolled down the various messages and updates of their days pausing at the last one.

From Mark: _I'm glad I got to see you yesterday. Hope I can see you tomorrow. _

Persephone felt the familiar flush through her body, the stutter of her breath and the acceleration of her heartbeat after seeing his name. His voice formed the words in her head as her body warmed with the thought of him. She had kissed a boy once and felt little to nothing at the gesture despite his attempts to stick his tongue in her mouth. In fact she was happy when her father scared him off, unsure of how to get rid of him herself. But even just thinking of Mark, any part, sent a quiver to her stomach and an ache between her thighs. She wasn't an idiot, she knew what sexual attraction was and knew that she had it bad.

But it felt different this time, like she was fighting again. A singing in her blood calling her to the hunt. Every time her heartbeat she imagined grabbing him, pressing his mouth against hers, letting his hands roam across her body. Her hands brushed against her thighs, taking some small comfort in the tiny thrill but it did little to quell her desires. She clenched her fists tightly and slowly began to breathe. A part of knew she could find him and have him. That thrum in her heart beat more loudly with every fantasy. However, the other part of her shut off her phone and refused to respond, glancing at the swords placed carefully on her desk. For once, she actually had bigger things to worry about. Learning to avoid her father's fist being one and the other the specter of the demons she was expected to face; an unknown for which she couldn't even form an image. The thought scared her, and she pushed it to the back of her mind.

Persephone groaned and sprawled across her bed shifting her thoughts to math and English. Anything except chemistry and demons.

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><p><strong><em>Peace out!<em>**


	8. Chapter 8: Vertigo

_**Whoop! Another chapter. Insert usual spiel here about not owning Devil May Cry. Enjoy and hopefully RR.**_

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><p>Persephone stretched her long legs in front of her, feeling the warm sun on her bare legs. She tilted her head back, letting the light warm her neck and face as the breeze slowly played across her skin. Reaching down, she rolled her skirt up around her thighs to feel more of the sun on her legs and grass beneath them.<p>

"This has been an unusually warm season," Jane said from behind her sunglasses, her eyes barely visible as they watched other students walk by. Next to her was Sarah, snapping her gum and tapping her foot to some unknown music and Mary Ann twirling her long red hair between her fingers as she typed on her calculator. Lounging next to Persephone was Jay who had laid a math book over his face as he dozed, the bright pink scarf he had worn waving in the wind.

They sat on a grassy hill that overlooked the common area and the old sports fields that were little more than open grass with faded white lines. Most the student body milled around, enjoying the warm weather as the teachers sorted out the plumbing issues that Persephone had the faintest inkling were caused by one of her brothers.

After several minutes of arguing in the morning, Persephone finally convinced her father to let her go to school as long as she promised to meet him afterwards at her uncle's. Though her eye was still bruised, it had faded significantly during Sunday leaving only a faint purple ring.

"Don't say that, you're going to jinx it," Persephone said, rolling her head lazily on her shoulders.

"Yeah, Jane," Jay said from under his book.

"So why were you gone last week? I don't remember you ever missing school and you missed practice on Saturday," Jane said, lifting her glasses.

"Wasn't feeling well. Mom thinks I should probably drop an activity," Persephone replied. _Gets in the way of uncle Dante punching me in the face._

"Really, so how did you get that black eye?"

"I ran into something," Persephone said, frowning.

"Was it Mark's dick?" Jane asked with devious smile.

Jay shot up off the ground, the book tumbling into his lap. "Jesus Christ, Jane. You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"Please, you know she always tries to get a rise out of us by saying the crudest thing possible," Sarah said between chewing. "Besides, Caleb said he practically ran out of the house when he caught you dancing."

Persephone rolled her eyes, imagining her brother going up to each and every student with a different version of the story.

"Number one, I was singing and fabulously I might add. And number two, he did not run away," she said.

Mary Ann stopped clicking away at her unknown formula and looked up. "I know. He was totally looking for you," she said with a giggle.

"You guys try too hard," Persephone said with a sigh but she felt a hot rush climb her legs and it wasn't from the sun.

"Each and every one of us tried flirting with him when you were gone and nothing. He completely wants you," Jane said, tucking her knees to her chest.

"Is that so," Persephone said, attempting her best disinterest but Jane saw right through her with one glance.

"Did your dad scare him off?" Sarah asked.

"He did tell him to leave," Persephone said.

Jane groaned, "Don't talk about your dad; it just makes me sad. I would do him, I really would. You should prepare for the fact that I might be your stepmother. Don't worry though, I'll be nice."

The group giggled with the all too familiar joke. Persephone really wanted to start a fund for all the times she said it.

"Please, you wouldn't even know what to do with a man. Not like you have ever been with one," Persephone grumbled. The giggling suddenly fell silent and Persephone perked up. Jane puckered her lips and looked down.

"Wait," Persephone said, climbing to her knees. "You are still a virgin?"

There was a long pause as Jane glanced back and forth between her friends. "Not really. I just didn't tell you about it," she confessed, wincing.

Persephone sat up straight, genuinely surprised. "What! You've been my best friend since tap class in elementary school and you couldn't tell me when you lost your virginity. When? Who?" Persephone asked.

"About a year ago at one of our away meets. He was with the other team," she said.

"I remember that guy," Jay said, winking.

"And all of you knew?"

"Well, yeah. She can't keep her mouth shut," Sarah said.

"Obviously," Mary Ann said laughing.

"So why didn't anyone tell me?" Persephone said. "It's not like I'm going to judge you."

Jane wiggled uncomfortably. "I didn't want you to feel bad."

"Why on earth would I feel bad?" Persephone asked, bewildered.

"Because you probably won't anytime soon. You know how girls get about these things, like it's a competition," Jane said, climbing to her knees.

"What? Why not?" Persephone asked, oddly offended. It was bizarre even as she asked the question.

"Your dad, obviously. Not like he would let a boy within ten feet of you," Mary Ann said.

"Ok, time for another list. One, I would not have felt bad because I know it will happen when it happens. I am not defined by who is in my pants. Two, it is not my dad keeping me from boys," Persephone marking each count with sharp movement of her hand.

"So you are keeping yourself from boys?" Jane said, laughing.

Persephone grew silent as the words settled in, her cheeks growing red. She wasn't sure how to respond and Jane knew it.

"No," she finally stammered after a few seconds, the word feeling pathetic even to her ears. "I just didn't have anyone I liked that much."

"Didn't, as in past tense," Jane said, a smile slowly spreading across her face. The other three stared at Persephone expectantly. She thought her face might catch on fire with the heat. She wasn't easily stupefied and it was unnerving to experience it. A thousand possible answers raced through her head and she futilely grasped at something clever.

"You know what I mean," she mumbled and looked away from her smiling friends, a heavy frown forming in her brow. It was lame answer and she knew it. Embarrassment spread through her gut and she felt a slight twinge of the demon within. It was odd that it reacted as well, enhancing her own anger and flooding her with an image of her fist in her friend's face.

She knew it was absurd to feel so worked up over gentle teasing or the prospect of a fling that wouldn't last. Several weeks ago, it would have been the biggest problem in her day, but against the backdrop of the demonic world suddenly spread out in front of her, it was distraction that should have unworthy of her attention. The demon in her wouldn't have put up with it or rather, wouldn't have bothered. But Persephone, the sixteen year old girl cared and for now, she had won.

"I think we made her mad," Sarah whispered, loud enough for the whole group to hear.

"Yes you did, now drop it," Persephone snapped. There was an awkward pause before Jay sighed.

"So how long until they fix the toilets, I really need to pee," he said.

As Persephone stared across the field, she saw a familiar mop of white hair bouncing through students. Caleb weaved in and out, dribbling a soccer ball as he approached the group. At the base of the hill he stopped and smiled before sending the ball flying towards Persephone with one swift kick. Without thinking, she raised her hand and smacked the ball out of the air with one hand, sending it rolling down the hill.

"Nice block," Jane murmured as Caleb trotted up.

"Hi, sweetie," he said, waggling his eyebrows at his sister.

"What do you want Caleb?" Persephone asked.

"Oh, just bored," he said and grinned towards Mary Ann. "How you doin?"

She only threw back her head and laughed but Caleb ignored the rebuff.

"Where's Gabe? Aren't you attached at the umbilical cord or something?" Jane asked searching for the other boy.

"He happens to be in the library thus leaving me to wander freely. Which I should thank him for because I get to see you act all awkward when your boyfriend finally gets here," Caleb replied, staring past Persephone's head.

She snapped around and saw Mark walking over. He waved when he saw her looking and she weakly waved back. Caleb laughed loudly as the others turned, their faces brightening while Persephone's heart started racing. Mark stopped just behind her and she felt a tingle run down her spine.

"Hi, guys. Caleb," he said with a nod.

"Hi, Mark," Jane said flirtatiously.

"Jane," he replied quickly, taking a slight step away from her.

Persephone swallowed hard. "She's just teasing. How are you?"

Mark's gaze lingered on her bruised eye, his own narrowing slightly. "I came to see how you were doing. That's a nasty bruise."

She gingerly touched her injury, suddenly self-conscious. Before it was a battle wound, now it suddenly became a blemish.

"Little clumsy," she said.

"She totally slipped on the toilet," Caleb said.

"That was lame Caleb. You should get your brother to write your insults," Jay said and Caleb stuck out his tongue.

Mark smiled. "I was going to head to that pizza place a few blocks away for lunch. Do you want to come? I have to admit I didn't do the homework from Friday," he said.

"Admittedly, neither did I," Persephone said, standing up and straightening her skirt. "You guys give me a call if they open the school again?"

"We would never let your reputation be tainted by tardiness. You two have fun," Jay said, reaching over to slap Jane as she opened her mouth to say something to embarrass her friend.

She grabbed her bag from the ground and they started climbing the hill and soon were walking through the quad in front of the school where students were laughing loudly over their free pass.

"So, you feeling better?" he asked.

"Just a little burnt out I guess. If it wasn't obvious, I do a lot of things."

"The way people talk, you've never missed a day or an activity," he replied.

Persephone stopped for a moment and pondered that. _I guess I never have missed a day_, she thought. The feeling was a little strange, elation at the prospect of something new and nervousness towards the sudden change in her life. She wondered how much she could put back together. Of course she could go to school and play the part, but she was pretending. Something greater awaited her when she went home. She was living half a life; one familiar and one obscure to her, only known by her father and some vaguely defined fate. The sudden gravity of the realization made her want to sit down. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she realized she was staring at the ground.

"You ok?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah. Fine. Just a lot of things going on," she said. He stared at her and she became unnerved under his gaze then she realized why. Though he was always smiling, his eyes were always observant, analyzing each and every expression she made with a scientific precision. During this observation, they would oscillate between soft and hard, as if he were deciding what to make of her. She didn't know what that gaze meant and it bothered her but also piqued her curiosity.

Finally he nodded, eyes growing softer before they began walking again. "You know I have to confess something," he said, his eyes straight ahead. "I actually wanted to sit with you, but you looked so upset that I asked you to walk with me."

"Well, then you would be correct," she said, a pleasant feeling working through her chest. She looked at the side of his face and realized he had a small scar next to his ear where his hairline began.

"So, did I save the day?"

"Maybe a little," she grinned.

"So what was making you mad?" he asked.

_You,_ she thought. Inside, the blue devil tempted her conscious, demanding that she confess, grab him and take what she wanted. But with the flicker of thought of demons, the urge tumbled back into her subconscious.

"Just things. Friends are difficult like that," she lied with a shrug.

"I can't imagine they have anything actually bad to say about you," he said. They fell into a comfortable silence as they walked, exiting the gates of the school. Persephone looked up and smiled, feeling a little more like herself for the first time in a long while.

###################################

Screams echoed through the chamber before becoming suddenly silent. Mara watched the blood drip from the wooden table to the marble floor, each drop adding more and more to the growing pool. Blood was thick; it moved and formed seemingly of its own will. As a child she would cut her own finger to watch it well up into a perfect bubble before falling into the sink. The man on the table had closed his eyes before he died, but she knew the shape of panic well and could imagine it.

"Was that necessary, mistress?" the blue demon whispered, its form twisting around her.

"You said he was dying," she replied absently, wiping the blood away from her hands with a white cloth. She dropped it to the floor and walked towards the door. "He was more useful this way."

"But this accomplished nothing. We have one less digger," it said, shifting in front of her.

"I fail to see the problem. Any news from the city?"

"My eyes see no movement. The boy continues to pursue the girl and she seems to not know. However, Dante and Vergil seem to have put aside their pursuit of Mundus or your mission. They seem to be spending quite a lot of time with the girl," it whispered.

Mara stopped her hand on the door. "What do you mean the girl?"

"She was taken to her Uncle's shop and was seen carrying swords out. They can sense it, the power from the girl. She is different," it whispered.

"The girl has awakened," Mara murmured. She felt a pang of jealousy in her stomach, but pushed the feeling aside. Too human. "The hunters will need to be aware of this. Keep your spies with their eyes on the family. I'm going to the city."

The blue mist shifted around her, surrounding her form. "For what mistress?" Its voice asked from all directions. The shapeless demon had always been too protective of her. She wondered often if it was out of genuine affection, or genuine fear.

"I need to remind them of what is at stake. Thing have gotten far too lax, don't you agree? You have that new location to dig, contact me if anything is found," she said and passed through the door.

######################

Persephone was hunched over, slowly sipping her soda through a straw and peering over the edge of the glass towards Mark. He glanced around the dark room, filled to the brim with other students who decided to escape the confines of campus, though Persephone was sure that most of them would have skipped school anyway. He gaze swept back to her and she quickly averted her eyes.

"Cheese pizza is kind of boring, don't you think?" he said, commenting on her order. He had encountered the same issue every member of her inner circle had experience. No she did not want meat, no she did not want vegetables; it was cheese on crust and nothing else. Even her uncle, whose own food tastes were rather unsophisticated, couldn't help but make fun of her.

She shrugged. "I don't know what it is. Pizza is cheese, sauce and bread and that's it. I firmly stand by my decision."

"So, what do we talk about?" he asked, leaning forward. His brown eyes searched her face.

"You have a very interesting look," she blurted out. Mark blinked with surprise.

"I don't follow," he said.

"It's like you never just look at someone. You're always searching deeper, like there is some other answer under the surface," she said.

He gave her an uncomfortable half smile. "Does it bother you?"

She paused for a moment. "Not really. It shows that you are always questioning, that things are more interesting than they appear. So what do find when you look at me?"

She watched as his eyes grew hard momentarily. He leaned in closer, until his face was only inches from her. She could feel his breath on her cheek, and could have sworn she could hear his heartbeat. His eyes slowly roamed over hers, tracing their way down her face.

"I really don't know," he said, his voice low and solemn. "I really wish things were simple."

The moment grew heavy and he pulled back.

"You are good," she whispered. His eyes grew soft with confusion and she felt like a dam was breaking in her mind. The words rushed out of mouth of their own accord, unstoppable. "Things are so complicated. They used to be so simple and I didn't realize it. Things were downright predictable. Everything I ever wanted I went for and got. I was going to be the ambassador to China."

"How do you know you were going to be the ambassador to China?" he asked.

"Because, that's how my life worked out. I don't even speak Chinese, and I told my parents that a year ago and they completely went with it. They never had any expectations of me. I decided everything in my life, and I am good and working to get what I want," she blurted. "Then suddenly my father drops an entire legacy I never knew about but I have to live up to and it is not what I was expecting and I have no idea where my life is going…." She paused and clamped her hands over her mouth to stop the words from flowing. Mark stared at her with wide, bewildered eyes.

"I am so sorry. I have no idea why I am telling you all this. You are literally only a few minutes away from being a complete stranger," she muttered quickly and sat back, wanting to disappear into the wood of the bench she was sitting on. He slowly reached across the table and gently pried a hand away from her mouth, holding it lightly in his own. She realized it was shaking

"It's ok. Sometimes an anonymous listener is what you need," he said. His gaze was a mixture of confusion and empathy, but his voice was soft. Her pounding heart began to settle.

"I haven't told anyone this. My friends, definitely not my parents," she said, still hiding behind her other hand.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you something about myself?" he asked. Persephone nodded. "I don't have many people to talk to either. As soon has you give them any doubt, it's over. You can't be trusted. It keeps me in check, but sometimes I can't stand it. I wondered if things were really so black and white. When my parents were murdered, it was easy to see the bad things and the good things. Harder to see the grey," he said.

Persephone lowered her hand and gently squeezed his. He jerked a little at the display, his face shocked.

"I'm sorry about your parents. I hope whoever did it got what was coming," she said.

His eyes grew steely at they looked at her and she saw the flicker of hatred in their brown depths. From his hand, she could feel his tension and the hair stood up on the back of her neck. The demon in her felt threatened for just a moment as she wondered if she said the wrong thing. Then slowly he relaxed, his eyes returning slowly to their usual expression.

"Thanks. But, it was a long time ago and time helps," he replied.

Persephone removed herself from his grasp and ran her hands through her hair, laughing softly.

"Wow, you know we have never actually talked about chemistry. Things tend to get a little too deep with you," she said, attempting a disarming smile. Mark chuckled softly.

"Well, I guess that means we're becoming friends," he said as his smile returned to his face. Persephone felt her cheeks get hot and was thankful for the interruption of the waiter bringing their pizza. He stared at her and she felt the too familiar flush of warmth and the flutter through her stomach. Her eyes kept wandering to his lips and the attractive way they curled up whenever he smiled. She could imagine reaching over the table and grabbing the back of his neck, forcing him into a kiss and the devil inside her reveled at the thought. Her heart beat quickly as she fought against the urge. The young devil quickly grabbed a slice of pizza and quickly took a bite, the hot cheese burning the top of her mouth.

"You want to talk about something less serious?" he asked, taking his own slice.

Persephone nodded violently. "Yes please."

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Vergil shifted restlessly in his bed. He was relieved Persephone had not failed utterly during the training. She was slow and insecure, but there was potential. His shoulders felt lighter with the burden of sixteen years of lying and hiding gone. But after the rest of his family had gone to bed, he was still awake, searching for something. The study was torn apart as he read papers and books, looking for anything that would destroy the itching feeling in the back of his skull. He was missing something and it put him on a knife's edge. He had learned a long time ago to trust this instinct, but it was maddening when the answer evaded him. Eventually, he retired to the bedroom just before Evangeline awoke for the morning and attempted to sleep, awaking every half an hour, unable to get comfortable.

The house had grown silent as he slept with everyone off in their day to day lives. Suddenly, he heard the door open and slam shut. He spared a glance at the clock and heaved a sigh when he realized in was nearing three o'clock. After another attempt at sleeping, he gave up and clambered from the bed his clothes from the night before hot against his skin. He noted the tear in his pants, the edges stiff with blood. Evangeline hated when he came to bed dirty from fighting.

Slowly, he made his way out the door and down the stairs, listening for the sound of family members and hearing noises in the living room. He walked around the stairs and entered from the back, spotting Evangeline sitting on the floor next to coffee table, a cluster of photos and papers in front of her. He watched her head bob up and down as she wrote slowly in a leather bound notebook, curly red hair falling around her face. She had changed since he first found her, not aging from her demonic essence, but motherhood had softened her and the skinny girl of before fully came into her own. But that face would never change. It would always be defiant, charging headfirst into life. No one else in the world could have been his companion. Her honesty and sheer resolve, confidence and occasional recklessness was necessary. More than that, her willingness to keep her moral judgments grey. He smiled at all the time she simply shrugged and went along with something illegal and somewhat questionable.

"You're not as quiet as you think you are," she said and looked up.

"Yes I am," he said, stepping into the room. "What are you doing?"

"I am creating a book for the children. It's about us. How we grew up, how we met, what we went through. Everything we know will be right here. We never got the opportunity, and this is my attempt to make up for sixteen years of lies and avoidance," Evangeline said, tapping the journal with her finger.

"Where are you now?" Vergil said a slight smiling creeping to his lips.

"Well, I started with Sparda and what I could find out, but I don't know how he met Eva or how they fell in love. She had to be rather exceptional. I was hoping you could tell me about you and Dante growing up and what you remembered. Then I started thinking about what Persephone was asking me in the bathroom, and realized the first thing should be the most important story of their lives," Evangeline said, gathering the papers and photos into the journal and closing it.

"And what's that?"

She smiled. "Us. The story of how our very unlikely family came to be."

Vergil walked over and helped Evangeline to her feet. "I think that is a brilliant idea."

Evangeline grabbed his shirt and brought his lips to hers, suddenly craving the sensation. He grabbed her hips and gently pushed her onto the couch, pressing his entire body against her frame. The hot blood rushed through her system and she sighed with pleasure from the sensation of him pressing between her thighs. He pushed up the hem of skirt around her hips as she quickly began unbuttoning his shirt. It was agonizing, going through the motions of undressing, and her hands shook with the anticipation of him inside of her.

The lock clicked on the front door and they both paused like deer in the headlights of an oncoming car. Listening closely, they heard the door swing open and parted, attempting the dance of concealment. Evangeline scowled deeply as she sat up and straightened her skirt and Vergil turned his back to the door, quickly buttoning his shirt again. In moments like these, no amount of love for his children would ever make him stop wondering when they would finally be gone. Even his experiences in hell seemed tame compared the torture of interruption.

"I swear to god, it's like they have ESP or something. Every single time," Evangeline muttered, running her hands through her hair.

"Mom, dad," Persephone called.

"What!" Evangeline snapped and Persephone stepped into the living room, arms raised in surrender.

"Geez, shall I find another place to live?" she asked. Vergil turned around.

"I have contemplated the idea," he said. Persephone's face scrunched and she quickly discerned from her mother's angry face what she had stepped into.

"Well, I do believe that you threatened me with eternal damnation if I was late for demon training, but clearly sex is more important than the fate of world, so I will just go upstairs to my homework," Persephone said, slowly backing out of the room.

"Child, go grab your weapons. You have a lot to learn," Vergil said. Persephone saluted and ran up the stairs.

Evangeline rested her hand on Vergil's shoulder to plant a kiss on his cheek.

"Get her home at a decent time to do homework," she said. Vergil gently scoffed at her words. A devil hunter with a curfew. Briefly, he wondered if his own mother would have done the same. It probably would have been a constant battle of wills, one which he was sure his mother would have won.

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Mara watched the mile markers tick by, her blood pumping faster the closer the city became. The lights of passing cars cast eerie shadows through the interior, illuminating her face briefly before plunging her into darkness. In the cup holder next to her, her phone rang and sprung life with a bright blue glow. She picked it up slowly, answering the call with one thumb as her eyes remained on the road.

"This is Mara," she said.

"It's Marco," the gruff voice said on the other end.

"Hello, dear. I see you received my instructions," she said.

"I did Mistress. There are several lined up, awaiting your orders," he responded.

"Send your largest tonight. Keep them anxious and on edge until I'm ready," she said.

"They haven't found it yet?" Marc inquired.

"Not yet. It's a large building and they built it well. We already found several false ones. But it can't hide forever," she said.

"We anxiously await Mistress," he said and she heard the click of the disconnecting signal. The road seemed to drag on forever only elevating her anger. She hated leaving her work to play this game, but things were not progressing as she had hoped. The ending seemed so sweet but so far and it was all she could do to contain herself. He had grown silent in the long period of waiting and she knew he was disappointed. That's what hurt her the most; his disappointment. She felt the tears prick at her eyes and quickly blinked them away. Weakness was what he hated most. Her fingers began to itch and she gripped the steering wheel tighter. She would search out a victim in the city, someone who may be able to quell the feelings of inadequacy.

#############################

Persephone yawned loudly just outside her uncle's door and her father shot her a withering look. She stopped mid yawn a closed her mouth, shrugging innocently. At her side was a duffel bag she was using to carry her swords, hoping not to arise suspicion. She wondered how she would possibly get any sleep tonight when her homework was hardly done. They stepped through the large wooden doors and Persephone began to feel anxious remembering her injuries from before, but at the same time adrenaline began pumping and she wanted to charge in, swords flashing. She was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the internal battle within her, the demon and human struggling against one another, rarely reaching common ground.

Inside, Dante was in the middle of shoving his desk into the wall, easily moving it with a loud groan of protest from the floorboards. She tilted her head, suddenly finding it peculiar he had a desk at all.

"So, what exactly do you do," she asked, removing her brown jacket and tossing it to the side. She had scrounged up and old t-shirt and torn jeans to wear to this session, deciding not to ruin something her mother may frown at.

"You mean me?" Dante said, turning around. "People call us if there's a demon problem and the occasional ghost actually. That's where your aunts are. Once and while, it's just odd jobs that need some muscle like security. Your dad on the other hand…."

"I do some work for the mob or syndicates. That's why you have your nice private school. I saved the headmaster from a hit," he said.

"You're a criminal?" she yelped.

"Persephone, I nearly destroyed the entire city by raising a hell tower. I'm fairly certain criminal doesn't cover it," her father said.

"Don't worry little bean, he's reformed…sort of," Dante replied.

Persephone swung her bag in front of her and started retrieving her swords, her body on edge, expecting them to jump at her at any moment.

"So what's on the agenda today?" she asked. "More painful humiliation?"

"Only a little, but this time, you are going to go vertical," Dante said.

"What do you mean?" Persephone asked. Her father nodded towards his brother who grabbed a bag off the table and threw it high above them, nearly reaching the ceiling of the what which was around three stories tall. In a blink, her father bound toward a pillar and ran up nearly ten feet before kicking off with an easy backflip, propelling him even further until he was arching above the bag, his back brushing the ceiling. In one blur of motion, he drew his sword and cut the bag in half, sending cloud of powder into the air. He disappeared and Persephone blinked, suddenly seeing him by her side. Her brain took a few moments to process before she realized her mouth was hanging open.

"You want me to do that? That is impossible, but amazingly cool. How do you do that disappearing thing because that's what I want to do," she said, eyes wide.

Her father only grinned. "You have to be faster. But don't get ahead of yourself; you hardly know the basics. Now, this is simply for one reason, there are large demons and there are flying demons. If you can't get to their level, you're dead," he said.

"My highest vertical is maybe five feet and that's with a spring board floor," she said.

"That's before your demon woke up, though I was doing it well before your age," he said, grabbing another bag from a pile on the floor.

"Rules are simple. Every bag you hit is an hour you get to do any of your extracurriculars. Every bag you miss means you have to fight me," her uncle said, cracking his neck. Persephone frowned at the motion, already feeling the bruises.

Her father winged the bag towards the ceiling and for a split second she wasn't even aware of the motion. Then she felt the surge of the demon inside of her and suddenly she was running towards it, jumping towards the pillar her father had used. She planted her feet against it, barely three feet off the ground and pushed off with more strength than she thought she had. She was traveling towards the ceiling then realized she had no idea where it had gone. That's when her ascent halted and began to fall quickly to the floor. She barely had the time to protect her face before she hit the ground, wincing with the sharp pain of elbows and knees on wood.

She lifted her head with a groan and Dante laughed loudly accompanied by an unfamiliar chuckle. Her stomach dropped when she realized it was her father. He rarely laughed and when he did, it was either out of spite or because someone had just made a complete fool of themselves. Turning her head, she saw her uncle doubled over, tears streaming down his face as her father attempted to compose himself, hiding his smile behind his hand.

"Alright," Dante said breathlessly. "You get a free pass. That was just too precious."

"You guys suck," Persephone mumbled under her breath, climbing back to her feet.

"I heard that," Dante said, pointing at her.

Persephone attempted her best imitation of her father and shot him a glare.

"I'm beginning to think we wasted all that money on your gymnastics classes," her father said with his arms crossed.

"She got junior state champion last year," Dante said.

"Training and demonic heritage and she can't even hit a bag of dust," Vergil replied.

Persephone felt the pang of anger in her gut but forced a smile. "I know this trick. You're trying to get me angry."

"Nah, if we really wanted to get you angry we could better," Dante said dismissively. "Let's try this again. Go get it girl!"

He threw a sack into the air. Persephone kept her eye on the soaring bag, as if she could destroy it with her mind. With every heartbeat, she felt the power flow through her veins. Unlike the surge of before, it was subtle and relaxing, like she could just reach out and grab it from the air. The movements of the sack seemed to slow as she examined the room, noting the slight ledge over the door near where the bag would start its downward arc. She ran towards the window next to the door and jumped on the sill. Quickly, she kicked off and towards the ledge above the door. She hit the wall hard, digging her toes into the ledge while using the wall for leverage. She snapped her head to the side, saw the bag begin its fall and pushed off from the wall, twisting her body 180 and reaching for the sack. She felt her heart leap as her fingers brushed the rough fabric then immediately plummet like a stone when it fell just out of grasp.

Then the world was no longer slow and she became well aware of how fast the floor was rushing towards her. Remembering ten years of lessons, she tucked into a ball and hit the floor with her shoulder and swiftly rolled to her feet.

"Fuck," she shouted.

"What do you think? Should we give it to her?" Dante asked Vergil who was watching his daughter closely.

"Absolutely not. She missed it," he said sharply.

Persephone whirled around and raised her hands to try to stop her now approaching uncle.

"Wait, wait, wait! I don't even have my swords," she said, backing up. Dante only grinned and rushed towards her, sword suddenly in hand. The tip of the sword was aimed towards her stomach and as she watched the silver blade, she felt the sudden surge of the devil through her body, screaming for freedom. Persephone jumped into the air several inches above the descending blade. Dante quickly changed course and lifted the blade toward her and without thinking she was jumping, her entire body tensing and releasing against some mysterious force. She saw only the briefest of blue lights and she was suddenly above Dante, looking down on his white hair.

He stepped to the side as she descended and hit the floor with both feet, grinning widely.

"Now that's how you jump," he said and clapped her hard on the shoulder.

"How did I do that?" she asked, unsure of what happened.

"Devils have a lot of power at their disposal," her father said, circling her in examination. "I think I know what your problem is."

"And what's that?" she asked, a little giddy with memory of nearly flying.

"You have too much control. You're constantly battling your demonic side which is leaving you with half the potential. To get better, you need to embrace it fully and let it have control. Its goals are your goals. That's why when you're in danger your able to access. It too is interested in self-preservation," he said.

Persephone scoffed. "It doesn't have a goal. It's like bodily function, like adrenaline. There is no second thing inside of me."

Vergil raised his eyebrow at his daughter, realizing how little she knew.

"Persephone, it's not a separate part…" he began when the phone rang loudly on the desk. Dante sauntered over and lift up the receiver.

"Devil May Cry, what's the password?" he said. His face suddenly brightened with whatever the voice on the other end was saying and he grinned towards Vergil.

"The docks you say? Keep an eye on it, we'll be there," he said and hung up. "Verg, we got a big one running around. Biggest Lady has seen in years. She thought we might appreciate it."

Persephone's eyes widened as she glanced between her father and uncle as they started towards the door as if they had psychically created a plan.

"Am I coming?" she asked. They stopped and gave each other a look and Persephone felt a knot form in her stomach. She was curious about whatever it is they were pursuing, yet unsure if she really wanted to know.

"Absolutely not," her father said.

"Come on. She needs experience," Dante replied.

"I said no. She won't be any help and can hardly get herself to safety. She'll be a liability," he snapped back. Persephone smiled inwardly when she saw the slightly softened look in her father's eyes. Though he did not use the words, she knew he was worried more for her safety than her getting in the way.

"Alright, she's your kid," Dante said and started again towards the door.

"Go home Persephone. Call your mother," her father said and followed Dante out the door.

She was suddenly alone in a silent, empty warehouse. Her eyes wondered to the bags of the sand lying unceremoniously on the floor, then to the desk and finally to the large sword hanging on the wall. It was monstrous, and she could hardly wrap her mind around the man who wielded it, or rather, demon. Though she knew his name, knew she was part devil, she really didn't understand. Persephone was just beginning to feel the budding power inside of her, but watching her uncle and father, it was nothing compared to what they could do. Whatever destination they had in mind for her seemed so far away. She couldn't even fathom what a demon looked like or what they even thought. It was like having the first chapter but the rest of the book was ripped out. The world felt like was tilted over so slightly, leaving her just a little off. The demon just a little too heavy on her soul.

_Persephone, it's not a separate part…_

Persephone heaved a heavy sigh and averted her eyes, wondering if he could somehow see her and wondering what Sparda would think of his grandchild who may be a little too human for his legacy.

###########################

Vergil easily leapt over the ten foot fence, clearing the barb wire with inches to spare. In front him was the empty parking lot of the dock and somewhere amongst the towers of large metal shipping crates, a large demon. However, he found his thoughts not on the demon, but wondering miles away to where he left his daughter alone in a dingy store. She had questions and so much he still needed to tell her. But thinking of her actually facing down a demon, he knew she was nowhere near the power she needed. A part of him wondered if she ever would be with how hard she was fighting it. It was foolish of him to ever think that she would just embrace her new life and become another version of him.

"Vergil," Dante hissed from several yards ahead of him. "Stop thinking and start hunting."

With a quick shake of his shoulders, Vergil regained his composure and followed Dante deeper into the docks. He listened closely as they moved swiftly through the containers, hearing the sounds of the waves lapping against the docks and groan of wood and metal. Dante suddenly stopped and raised a finger to his lips before pointing above him.

"Dante, Vergil!"

The twins looked up and saw Lady's face peering over the edge. Swiftly, they climbed to the top of the crate tower using the ropes strapping the containers together. Lady knelt at the top in her usual attire of shorts and a white shirt, Kalina Ann at her side.

"Where is it?" Dante asked.

She pointed a gloved hand to a distant ship. "It chased some of the workers onto the ship. It's still hanging around there."

"Little too big to handle?" Dante joked.

"Trust me, I don't have enough ammo to kill that thing," she said.

"Well, that's why you've got us," Dante said. "You get high, I get low?"

Vergil nodded and jumped across to the set of containers, keeping as silent as possible, Lady following slowly behind him. Dante dropped to the ground below and started weaving his way ahead. Vergil kept his eyes on the clearing in front of the ship that was docked, looking for any signs of movement. He reached that last metal crate and stopped, seeing nothing in the darkness. Shortly after, Dante jumped out into the clearing. He glanced around the open area, wandering without any regard for stealth.

"I thought you said it was over here," Dante shouted and Vergil hissed quietly to himself. That's when he heard it, a low groan from behind the bow of the ship. Vergil knelt down, watching a shadow seemingly unwind itself, stepping out from behind the ship. The shadow seemed to grow, becoming an immense, hulking shape and Vergil realized it wasn't a shadow. The demon stood up, reaching nearly half way up the side of the massive shipping freighter. The light of the ship's deck seemed to slide off the demon's inky black skin, as if it repelling it and allowing it to merge with the darkness. Its black skin seemed to stretch over nothing but bone, a skeleton wrapped it black rubber. It moved easily on its thin feet, supported by two large clawed toes, flexing its skinny hands tipped with needle-like claws. Vergil's searched for a face, but could only make out the faintest outline of eyes and where a mouth would be.

The demon emitted another low groan, turning its head towards Dante who grinned wildly.

"You are a big boy aren't you?" he said.

Lady had joined Vergil on the top of the container, carefully aiming Kalina Ann.

"So what brings your seriously creepy ass to this neck of the woods? Haven't you learned that it's dangerous?" Dante taunted, slowly reaching for his guns.

The demon let out a choppy grumble that sounded like an attempt at laughter. "Sparda," it said, its voice unusually soft and whispery. "We come for you."

"Yeah, about that... Don't you guys ever get tired of just dying all the time?" Dante said.

"Why explain the machinations of a god to a peon like you," it said with its groaning laugh.

Dante laughed in response. "Oh, so you're a god now."

The demon suddenly opened its mouth in a wicked smile, a gaping black hole filled with rows of white teeth like a shark.

"I will win Mundus' favor with your death. What matter is it that mine might follow? He will rise again, you cannot stop him. You have not. He already walks this world again and soon will rule it. He'll find the weapon before you," it whispered.

Vergil felt his body grow cold with the name. Another demon certain of Mundus' return. Lady lowered her weapon towards the demon. _Keep it talking,_ Vergil thought.

"What is this weapon and where can I find it? Have to be fair and give us a chance," Dante said, his eyes darting briefly towards Vergil's location.

The demon only laughed, "I am a servant not an idiot. May Mundus spit on your corpse and your father's."

Vergil nodded towards Lady and she pulled the trigger, sending out a single missile with a loud _bang_. The demon could only flinch as the metal hit it square in its chest, sending it staggering backwards as Dante let out a volley of bullets towards its face. Vergil darted across the tops of the containers as the demon clutched its face, circling around until its back was exposed. He leapt towards it, bringing the point of Yamato down between its shoulders. The demon grunted and shook its body with Vergil hanging onto the hilt of his sword, attempting to wrench it loose from its leathery skin. He felt the demon's claws in his back, cutting deep as it plucked him off like one would a flea.

Vergil was tossed towards the ground and he rolled easily to his feet, ignoring the blood dripping down his torso. He kept his eyes on the Yamato's hilt, feeling nearly naked without his weapon. The demon trained its attention on him and he materialized several icy daggers, sending them towards it heart only to have the shatter against its thick skin.

"Hey! Over here!" Dante shouted. Vergil watched his brother draw Rebellion as the demon switched his attention. With a roar it ran towards his brother, shockingly fast, the movement of its bones visible under its skin. Dante rushed forward and darted between the demon's feet. It bent over to grab Dante from beneath him only to find its hand spinning off in another direction as Dante brought the heavy blade down, sending the demon reeling backward in pain.

Vergil ran towards his brother who cupped his hands by his knees and jumped into his open palms, soaring easily above the demon with the aid of Dante's lift. He twisted his body downward, reaching for this blade still in the back of the howling demon. The hilt brushed his palm and he gripped it tightly, tearing it from the demon's flesh as he fell. It roared again, thick black blood rushing from the wound. Vergil landed on his feet and quickly spun around. The demon swept its good arm wildly towards him and Vergil deftly jumped on top of it, running up the demon's arm. He spotted its thin neck and trained the edge of his blade toward it, slicing easily through the joints. The body slumped forward as its head rolled across the ground.

Vergil jumped off the demon's corpse and walked towards Dante who was staring intently at its head. The demon smiled and began to chuckle, spurting blood from the gaping hole of its neck.

"Your father died trying to defeat Mundus. What makes you think you can succeed?" it groaned before closing its mouth and lying limp.

Vergil and Dante exchanged glances.

"Another one and we don't know anything. He said Mundus already walks but why haven't we seen anything?" Dante wondered aloud.

"I don't know," Vergil replied. "I haven't found anything about father's grave. No one knows anything and if he left something behind for us to follow, it's long gone."

"So what do we do?" Dante said, leaning on rebellion.

"We chase demons and we figure out where it is. And was keep training Persephone; she's going to need it," Vergil said and turned to leave. There was pit in his stomach that pulled heavily on his mind. The demon's words repeated themselves again and again in his head. His father couldn't succeed in destroying him. He and Dante had both only delayed his return and again he had found another way. What if this was the time he would succeed? Imagining the life it would leave his children made his spirit weak. He leaned against a metal container out of the view of his brother and let out one shuddered breath.

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><p><em><strong>End scene and back to training.<strong> _


	9. Chapter 9: One Million Pieces

**_Hello again. I hope you all enjoy this. I ask that you please review to let me know your thoughts and maybe a little validation :). Enjoy._**

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><p>Drip. The sweat dripped from his nose and onto the floor. He tried to pour every ounce of concentration into each push up, trying to force each muscle to work in order to avoid thinking of her hand on his. It was such a human gesture, so normal. He had hated her for a brief second when he remembered his parents, but it all just melted away as she held his hand.<p>

He felt dirty, hopelessly wondering if she held some sort of spell on him, some demonic attraction that pulled her victims in. But he knew with the protective charm tattooed onto his arm that it wasn't true. His doubt was heavy in his chest and he couldn't shake it. He tried remembering his parents, he tried thinking of his companions and he remembered the bright glowing of the red stone, but nothing shook it. He torn between knowing she was a demon and genuinely enjoying the person she appeared to be. She was smart, funny, confident and almost looked forward to seeing her each day. Reminding himself over and over again that she was a demon did nothing to quell the desire to be with her. He didn't know what would happen if he was wrong, but he knew what would happen if he abandoned his mission. Demon sympathizers never met a good end in this group

With a grunt Mark sat back on his heels, his arms finally tired of holding up his body. He looked around the decrepit warehouse they were renting a sighed. The previous tenant's crates were still stacked around and they had made some use of them. In the corner of the open room was a cluster of cots near a small bathroom and even smaller kitchen area. Set up in the middle of everything were tables and chairs that were at the moment covered in various weapons. He heard a shuffle beside him and turned his head to see Jon and Rose entered.

"Where's everyone else?" he asked.

"Out getting real food and hopefully a couple of demons," Jon replied, running a hand through his blonde hair nervously.

"But I guess you got some food already," Rose said, her lip curled. It took every ounce of Mark's effort not to sigh loudly.

"Just playing the part, Rose. I'm a teenage boy falling for the wiles of a young demon," he said and stood up.

"I hope that's all it is. I've heard that you've been almost too convincing."

Mark's back stiffened at the sound of that voice. His eyes followed the man who stepped out from behind Rose, placing his hand on her shoulder as he did so. He was around thirty-five with rakish brown hair that was already seeing signs of salt and pepper, a wide jaw and a narrow nose. Tall and thin, he moved with an easy effort that radiated with confidence. His confidence never made it past his smile though; instead, his eyes were always hard and calculating. Mark remembered those large, scarred knuckles ramming into his face and felt his stomach twist.

"Cyrus, I don't think we were expecting you," Mark said, slowly reaching down to pick up his shirt from where it lay on the ground.

Cyrus just laughed and stepped forward, clapping Mark on both shoulders. "Good to see you too, buddy. But I have look after my best team. Devil's Bane, you guys are the ones I can trust. Remember that other team you guys worked with to take down that possessed girl?"

"Sure do. And I bet Jenny won't forget it. Assuming she gets out of the hospital anytime soon," Mark said, easing slowly backward and putting on his shirt.

"She was the best hacker, but god was she weak. That wasn't a little girl anymore. Luckily, I had you guys around to clean up the mess. That's why I had to come check you guys out. I didn't trust that Mara no matter how much cash she has," Cyrus said, looking down at his nails.

"And?" Jon asked.

"She checks out. Not a demon. Actually, you two have a lot in common," Cyrus replied, pointing at Mark. "Her parents were murdered, torn apart. I spoke with her, and she told me these demons hurt her father and she wants revenge."

"You trust her?" Mark said.

"I can tell when people are lying and she is not lying. But she also explained the situation and I realized how delicate it was and that you might need some of my sage advice," Cyrus said with a smile.

"Thought we were your best team," Mark said calmly and Cyrus's eyes flashed quickly towards him. Dangerous, like a tiger stalking prey.

Suddenly, he laughed and stepped up to Mark, tall enough to stare him down. "Playing with demons is tough. I just need to make sure your heads are on right. But I can trust you, can't I Mark? With what happened to you, you wouldn't be dumb enough to fall for a demon's trick. Would you?"

"Absolutely not. You taught me well," Mark said quietly.

"Good, now what I need is for you to do is to keep playing your part for now. I've got a plan, but for another time," Cyrus said and punched Mark lightly in the stomach. "First, I'm going to get setup in the office up above. Rose, come on. I got some things to go over."

Cyrus gave Mark one more clap on the shoulder and headed towards the stairs leading to a small office overlooking the warehouse. Rose briefly looked at Mark before following, her eyes hard. Mark waited until he could see them shuffling above in the darkened room before grabbing Jon roughly and pulling him behind a wooden crate.

"Did you call him?" he hissed.

"No, man. He busted my leg the last time I saw him for missing that demon. I don't know who did. Why are you so worried?" Jon said, smacking Mark's hands away.

"He only complicates everything. We won't be able to sneeze without him watching," Mark said, running a shaky hand through his hair. Cyrus was overbearing, violent and unsympathetic, but Mark knew the real reason he didn't want him around. That man had decades of experience and had practically raised Mark since the age of twelve after plucking him from foster care. If anyone could see right through him, it was Cyrus and if the older man saw what was lurking in his thoughts, he wouldn't hesitate to teach Mark exactly what happened to those who strayed.

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Persephone watched the buildings tick by as her mother wound her way home from Dante's shop. She kept thinking of her grandfather's sword hanging on the wall and then to father and what he must be doing. He had spent many nights away from home, returning at the strangest hours with only the explanation that he was at a "consultation." Now she knew. She glanced at her mother and wondered how she handled it. Didn't the worry make her sick?

"So I guess they got a call," her mother finally said.

"Yeah, something about a large one," Persephone replied. "Aren't you worried?"

"About the demon?" her mother asked.

"No, about dad."

Her mother laughed and shook her head. "I do not worry about your father. He has a unique ability to always come back. There was only one time when I thought he was never coming back."

"When was that?"

Her mother glanced at her briefly before returning her eyes to road. Persephone noticed the demonic brown essence in the whites of her eyes. Strange that it was becoming almost normal to see.

"When he rescued us from hell, we were spotted. He stayed behind to fight off the horde sent to retrieve us while your uncle and aunt carried us out. I waited by that portal forever, wishing he would come back but he didn't. And then, when I finally realized he wasn't coming back, he did. So no, I never worry about your father," she said.

"He's that powerful," Persephone said quietly.

"He is, and you will be too. You're just a little behind," her mother said with a comforting smile.

"Yeah, I'm sure I will," Persephone muttered.

"So how was school?" her mother asked, the question a sharp contrast to her story.

Persephone's mind wandered back to the pizza parlor with a small smile. "Fine," she said.

She thought back to the pizza parlor as the houses ticked by. She could feel a tingle where his hand had touched hers and see his smile just in front of her. He was something altogether different in a way she couldn't quite put her finger on. His smile was infectious, but on occasion, she saw sadness beneath the surface, as if he carried some heavy weight. With it came that thrill of mystery, the pull that made her want to open the door even though what lay behind it was dangerous and the demon kept nudging her towards it. Her body began to feel flushed with warmth and she prayed her mother couldn't see.

They arrived at home and pulled into the driveway. Persephone quickly clambered out with her duffel and rushed into the house and up the stairs. In the safety of her room, she leaned against the door and breathed heavily, blood pounding through every vein. She wanted to hear his voice, wanted to see his smile and feel his hand against hers.

Persephone grabbed her phone off her nightstand and shakily flipped through her contacts, arriving on his number. His name stood out brightly against her screen and she quickly wondered what to say. Should she invite him over, should she sneak out and meet him? She quickly threw the phone on her bed and clutched her hair.

"What the hell am I doing?" she said to herself, her breathing staggered. "Persephone, there are demons. You have more than enough to be worried about."

_But you want him. Why shouldn't you have him?_

"Shut up," she said, feeling crazy. That voice constantly tugged at her, going against any logic she threw against it. "I can't. Why this? Why don't you show up when I actually need you?"

She ran into the bathroom, locking all the doors behind her and stripping down. She turned the faucet, sending out a rush of cold water that was nearly painful against her hot skin. She plunged her entire body under the shower stream, shuddering slightly from the cold. Her heart still pounded in her ears as she let the cold water rush over her, trying to wash away the thoughts, but they continued their invasion of her mind. As she stared down at her naked body, all she could imagine was his hands touching her and she groaned. The desire pumped through her system and she found her hands wandering, attempting to imitate the thoughts in her head. She clenched her hands into fists and fell to the floor of the tub, clutching her knees to her chest.

_You need to embrace it fully and let it have control. Its goals are your goals, _her father's words suddenly sprung to mind. She was fighting it, every single step of the way. She couldn't deny what she wanted, not with the demon whispering in her ear. Persephone leaned against the cool wall of the tub.

"I can't. I'm afraid," she said aloud. She told herself a million times that she never dated because she was too busy. They were nothing but a distraction. But she knew the real reason why, and the demon didn't allow her to lie to herself. She was always afraid to be found wanting. With everything she did, she pursued perfection. But a demon, not even a full demon but a half-breed, was as far from it as anything could be. She like a mistake, a flaw amongst all the people around her. How could anyone ever love her truly?

#################################

Vergil stepped into his home, his body weary. Slowly, he climbed the stairs, the house once again dark as it usually was when he returned. The twins' rooms were dark, but a light still shown from under Persephone's door. He knocked quietly and edged the door open. She sat at her desk, glancing between some book and her phone. Her head shot up when she heard him enter and he frowned. Her face was slightly puffy and her eyes weary.

"Hi, dad. How was it?" she asked, her eyes quickly falling to the holes in his shirt.

"It was very large," he said. "I'm sorry to have left you."

"Don't worry about it. I understand and I was thinking about what you were telling me," she said, setting down her pencil.

"What was that?" he asked, leaning against the doorway.

"How do you do it? Deal with the two sides? I feel like I might be insane," she said with a laugh.

He crossed his arms as he tried to find the right words. "I don't think my two sides were ever really at odds. I wanted power; it wanted power. I perhaps embraced it more than I should have, but I grew up never knowing a difference. Your uncle used it instead to protect those that were weaker, embracing his human side more. When you find a goal, an outlet so to speak, it will become easier."

"Did you ever have a time when it wanted something that you didn't?" she asked, her blue eyes hopeful for the answer.

"I did but some things are far more powerful than a demon. What is happening?" he asked, curious as to what inner turmoil she was experiencing.

She smiled nervously. "Nothing really important. Can I ask you another question?"

"Of course," he said, somewhat pleased with inquiries.

"Don't act weird, but are certain…urges that the demon causes?" she asked slowly, visibly bracing herself for the answer.

Vergil knew exactly what she meant and wished that he didn't. She was getting older, he knew that, but he could still remember the little girl in pigtails crying when she fell off the balance beam.

"Whatever it is, no. Just no," he said, recalling the boy in her room.

"You said you wouldn't be weird," she said with a frown.

"No, I didn't. Again, the answer in no and you have no urges except the urge to kill demons just like I have the urge to kill adolescent boys," he said quickly and retreated from the room like a coward, hearing her call after him that she had another question. It was pathetic and exactly like Evangeline had said a million times before; he was a stereotypical father. Half demon or no, she was still his daughter and he would be damned if he let any pubescent teenage boy near her.

He darted into the safety of his room where Evangeline sat on the bed in a black negligee, brushing out her hair.

"Hey, what's wrong? You look all panicked," she said. He briefly debated telling her, wondering if he would ever hear the end of it.

"Persephone just asked me about urges," he confessed. Evangeline's face brightened and she began laughing.

"She's sixteen. It's going to happen. And if she were me, it would have already happened," Evangeline said, setting down her brush on the nightstand.

"No, it's not going to happen," he snapped.

"As long as you are an equal opportunity chastity belt and get just as mad when your sons start dating," Evangeline said.

Vergil snorted. "Of course they aren't allowed to date. Do you know what sort of hell those boys could get into? I remember being fourteen and it was torture."

Evangeline just laughed and slid under the sheets. Her red hair was silky from the brushing and her exposed skin seemed so soft as she relaxed into the bed. The events of the night came rushing back and he felt guilt rest heavily in his chest. He felt guilty that he had forgotten the demon's words for just a brief second of normalcy with his lover and guilty that he needed to worry her. The edges of his vision began to turn red and his skin began to crawl. Mundus whispered again and again in his head.

He hated the demon, every memory, even the sound of each letter in his name as it rolled through his mind. Mundus was the monster lurking in every nightmare that always found you no matter how fast you tried to run. Dante couldn't kill him. The infection didn't take him like it had so many others and the metal army did not defeat him. He hid in the shadows, waiting for the opportunity to fully take his revenge. Though Vergil had willed it not to be true, in his heart he knew Mundus had seen them in the underworld. Vergil knew Mundus had seen the tiny baby, and it was an unforgivable sin to the king of hell that Sparda may continue into the future. Sixteen years without him was only a reprieve; hell did not sleep.

Wisps of blue energy began to lick the air around him and Evangeline sat up in the bed, her green eyes worried.

"Vergil," she said softly. "You're scaring me."

Vergil took a deep breath and released the energy around him. "There was another demon, looking for Mundus' favor. It said that Mundus is already walking among us, that he is close to the weapon my father left behind."

Evangeline just stopped moving, becoming a living statue with wide panicked eyes. He could see the walls of safety collapsing in her mind, exposing every fear she ever had for her family.

"He's not going away, is he?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"No," Vergil said.

"I knew he saw us when we escaping the canyon. I felt him see right through me," she said. "I don't know why I would think he wouldn't go after her."

"It was bound to happen again," he said. "We need to get them ready. All three of them. And I need you to start looking for him. He can't hide. It's impossible for a demon that powerful."

Evangeline nodded slowly and gave a weak smile. "I guess family game night tomorrow will become family boot camp. Gabriel's ready to start training in magic and Caleb needs to learn how to defend himself."

"We'll find it before he does. We have to," he said. Evangeline crawled across the bed to where he was standing and held out her arms.

"Can you pretend for the night that you are comforting and hold me? Tell me it's going to alright," she asked. He reached out and ran his finger over the curve of her cheek, feeling her shaking body. He undressed from his soiled garments and climbed into the bed next her, letting her clutch onto him and bury her face in his chest. Though he held her closely, he couldn't bring himself to lie and tell her what she wanted to hear.

####################################

The world again was red. Persephone trailed her hands along the crumbling walls, searching for the man she knew would be there. From the darkness, a figure began to emerge, its back turned to her. As she approached, she began to recognize the familiar school uniform. Jane turned around slowly, her eyes wide.

"Is this where you have been? What are you?" Jane asked.

Persephone looked down and saw the blue form of the demon, its dark black armor tracing its way across her body.

"Jane, wait," she said. Suddenly, a scream filled the tunnel and Jane was ripped backward by some invisible force as the walls shattered. Persephone ran after her friend, stumbling over the rubble until she was forced to crawl on bloodied knees. The rubble crumbled into dust and blew away and Persephone was on her bed. She rolled over and came face to face with brown eyes. Mark ran his hand through her hair and smiled.

"Mark," she said. Blood burst forth from his mouth, and he let out a single strained gurgle from his throat. Persephone shot up and saw a hulking shape with wings, holding Mark's torso within its jagged teeth. It growled and ripped his body away from her grasp, Mark's form flopping helplessly in its mouth.

Persephone screamed and was falling straight into a pit. Around her rose a million screams emanating from a million horrified faces. They tore at her, ripping deep into her flesh. Flames erupted from their bodies and soon she was falling through an inferno. She covered her eyes and waited for the end to come. Instead, the world became silent and she felt a cool breeze on her cheek.

She stood in a grassy field, the sun shockingly bright in the sky, turning the trees around her into a ghostly haze. She walked further into the field, the light slowly dimming until she could make out a figure of a woman in a red dress in front of her, her blonde hair swaying in the wind. She stood next to a worn and rotted sign, the only word discernible was Hollow.

"Aunt Trish?" she said, her voice echoing through the grass. The woman turned around, her blue eyes opening wide with happiness. Such joy radiated from her, filling the area around her more than the bright light. The woman clasped her hands to her chest, her eyes soft.

"You are so beautiful," the woman said.

Persephone looked around, waiting for the next horror to come leaping towards her. The woman only shook her head and reached for her, brushing her fingers lightly over her cheek.

"Don't be afraid," she said. "Find him and you will have far more than you will ever know."

The world began to darken, the grass withering beneath their feet. Thunder cracked above them, causing the earth to shudder as if frightened. Persephone watched a single crack form beneath her feet and she jumped back.

The woman screamed, but Persephone could not hear her above the rumbling of the earth. Darkness descended, plunging the entire world into an inky black only penetrated by the lightening above.

_Will you find me?_

Persephone gasped as she awoke and rolled quickly from her bed, crawling to her window. She tore open the curtains to let the morning light pour over her, washing away the nightmares.

###################################

Mara sipped slowly from her coffee, letting the thick black liquid burn its way down her throat. She watched the people on the street below rush around on the sidewalks, their eyes blank as they made their way to various jobs and errands. She crinkled her nose at the sight and turned away, stepping into the darkness of her hotel room. There was a knock at the door and she quickly walked over to open it. A man in a dark hood pushed his way in, glancing around the empty room.

"Don't act so nervous," she said. "How are you Marco?"

The man threw back his hood, revealing curly black hair and a distinctly crooked nose.

"I'm sorry. Sparda makes me nervous," he said wryly.

"Why all of you insist on calling them that is beyond me. They aren't their father," she sighed.

"The demon is dead," he said. "Your message was delivered."

"Good, find another," she said, setting down her coffee cup. "Wait for my orders."

"What did this accomplish accept losing one of my toys?" he asked.

"Vergil is at home right now, worrying about his family. He is wondering how Mundus could possibly get out of hell and what the weapon is. He will try to find the grave and discover he knows absolutely nothing. Humans are so predictable," she said, lounging across the bed.

"I don't understand," he said.

"Of course you don't. You don't control the game. Information is power, and I have it all," she said, grinning from her place on the bed. "Stop trying to figure it out. I won't tell you anything."

"Of course, Mistress. Shall I send it after the girl?" he asked. Mara quickly jumped up from her spot and brought her face close to his.

"Not the girl. Not yet," she said. "I have my pawns in place for her."

Marco only bowed his head. Mara lifted up his chin and smiled at the human.

"There will be a special place for you and for me," she said. The pieces of the puzzle slowly fell together and she felt again a sense of control. Power came in so many forms. He would be proud to see her.

######################################

Persephone rested her head on the top shelf of her locker, using the door to block her face, but at the moment, she hardly cared what the other students were thinking. She was tired of the nightmares waking her up every night and tired of walking around the hallways of her school worried that someone might be able to see that something was wrong. It was exhausting and she wondered how her family had managed to pull it off.

"Sephie?"

She lifted her head and turned to look up the soft voice addressing her. Gabriel stared intently at his sister, his blue eyes wide and sympathetic.

"Hey, Gabe. What's up?" she said and pulled a book from her locker.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Fine," she lied. In fact, her whole day was appearing to go downhill. She had only barely managed to scrape together her homework consisting of a literary analysis that was hardly up to par. The morning at home also seemed particularly tense. Her mother was awake at the breakfast table, but only stared off into space, her green eyes hard. She didn't say a word save for the few short orders she usually did, even in the car she was particularly silent. Persephone didn't even see her father, but heard him enter the study shortly before she left.

"I heard you fall out of your bed this morning from your nightmare," he said.

Persephone wrinkled her nose. "How did you know I had a nightmare?"

Gabriel only smiled cryptically. He should have been the one to turn into a demon she thought. He was quickly adapting the situation and everyone wondered how long his demonic heritage had been present. He only kept silent about the matter, quietly going through their father's books. Persephone knew he didn't want to flaunt what he could do, preferring to preserve his relationship with the jealous Caleb. She had often wondered what they would do without the other. Though they were always described as complete opposites, she knew better. They were two different expressions of the exact same thought, a slight turn of phrase to create a new idea.

Gabriel looked past Persephone and waved as Jane sidled up between them. She grabbed Persephone's hand and clasped it tightly.

"I'm sorry about making fun of you yesterday. It's like I can't help myself, bitchiness just seems to pour out. You didn't eat lunch with us," she said. Persephone forced a smile, but her mind flashed back to her dream and she gripped Jane tightly.

"It's ok. It's not like I didn't know how you were. I was in the library finishing my homework," she said and shut her locker.

"Well, even though I pick on you, I do care. You just haven't seemed like yourself lately. I'm worried. I didn't hear from you all weekend and you've been missing all your practices. Like yesterday, you weren't there again and they actually gave your solo to Jay. More for laughs than anything else," Jane said. Persephone bit her lip and glanced at Gabriel who stared calmly at her.

"There's just a lot of things going on at home. I really don't want to talk about it," Persephone said quickly. Jane only stomped her foot and refused to let go of her hand despite Persephone trying to pry it free.

"That's bullshit. Did you forget practice is for regionals and you aren't going unless you start showing up? Now I don't care if we win, I care that you don't seem to care. It isn't like you," Jane said.

"I'm really ok," Persephone replied, wrenching her hand from Jane's grasp.

"Is this about your parents? Did you actually find something?" Jane asked, giving Gabriel and look from the side of eye. He only shrugged and she sighed at apparently losing an ally. Persephone weighed telling her everything briefly in her mind. But that thought was quickly tossed; filed away under silly fantasies. Jane was a good friend, but she was only human and as Persephone realized, they had limits.

"I'm just tired. I'll be there tomorrow," she said.

"What about gymnastics tonight?"

Persephone groaned when she remembered. She quickly spun around and started towards her next class, Jane dogging her heels.

"Maybe I just don't want to be doing all this," she said as they walked.

"Again, that's bullshit," Jane snapped, hooking their arms together so she could keep up.

"Well, sometimes things change," Persephone muttered. But she was lying; she wanted to be there. She wanted to be singing, dancing, flipping with her friends, but she couldn't. There was just too much, like she would suddenly explode. She was expected to do what? Save the world? Slay demons? How does someone wrap their arms around that? She wasn't even sure if it were possible for her to be anything else, and she couldn't shake the feeling that a part of her was withering away

Persephone stopped at the door to her next class and waved goodbye. Jane only placed her hands on hips.

"This isn't over," she called as Persephone retreated to her lab table. It was early, so she set her head on the cool table, trying to remember if she had done the pre-lab. Slowly, other students began to filter in, laughing and talking, a few greeting her as they walked by. The teacher rushed in, quickly rattling off the lesson for the day and Persephone lifted her head, realizing the seat next to her was empty. She grinned slightly at her lack of surprise. Mark didn't seem like the type for whom skipping class was an unusual occurrence. How he managed to get enrolled in her school, she had no idea. The picture of his smile sprung into her mind, then a shock of red tore through her day dream and blood gushed forth from between his teeth. She jerked at the image, receiving a few stares from the nearby students.

A young man with short blonde hair turned around in his stool and looked at her, smiling. He was in several of her classes over the years, always somehow managing to sit right in front of her in each one and they would chat between periods. "Persephone, you ok?"

"Yeah, thanks Sam. Just got a little tired," she said.

"You know, I missed not having you around. Things aren't as pretty without you and a little less smart," he said.

"Aww, that's sweet. Apparently my absence is like a disturbance in the force," she said.

Their teacher clapped twice. "Alright, alright. As excited as I'm sure you all were to test our homemade fertilizer, I'm afraid that we are lacking a certain chemical compound for the experiment. So now, we will be going over balancing equations and naming compounds."

There was a resounding groan from the classroom.

"Hey, this is supposed to be the easy stuff. I'm shocked you all did so badly on my last pop quiz…"

There was a slight commotion at the door and a head of black hair poked its way inside. Everyone turned to watch Mark walk in nonchalantly.

"Mr. Vaclav, how nice of you to join us. I'm shocked. Why don't you take a seat," their teacher said.

Mark only smiled, quickly walked over to the empty stool next to Persephone and dropped his notebook. His uniform was a mess, jacket undone with his tie hanging loosely, his shirt wrinkled. He gave her a devilish grin and sat down.

"Hey there," he whispered.

"Keeping the anarchist vibe strong I see," Persephone said. He laughed softly and shrugged.

Sam glared at Mark, shaking his head. "You could at least pretend you care. Do you even know what class you are in?"

"Apparently, Jackass 101. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors," Mark responded coolly.

Sam turned around when he heard a sharp bark of "Pay attention" from their teacher who was busy scribbling on the white board.

"You know he's right," Persephone whispered with a smile.

"Well, I just needed good motivation. Luckily she showed up today," he replied. Persephone pretended to roll her eyes, hoping he didn't see the blush creeping up her neck. She returned to attention to the front, trying to ignore the tingling sensation his hand only inches from hers was causing. She had wanted to avoid him after her dream out of some strange sense of foreboding, but those memories were quickly shoved to the side. She felt so damn helpless in his presence, both relaxed in their easy friendship and a complete mess when he made her blood sing. He was attractive, but that was something that hardly fazed her in the past, the problem was him.

The teacher finished his spiel about the assignment and sat his desk, observing the interactions from afar.

"I have no idea what he just said. Does that make me stupid?" Mark asked with a laugh.

"Nah, makes you ignorant. Shall I teach you the riveting art of equation balancing?" Persephone said, writing down the first problem from the board.

"I liked having lunch with you yesterday," Mark said, staring intently at her. She felt her heart skip a beat, but steadied her focus on the work in front of her.

"Chemistry, Mark. We are in chemistry class, can't we finally talk about it?" she said, wanting to change the conversation to anything else. _Don't you know what I am?_ His eyes flicked between her and his notebook as he contemplated her plea. Finally he opened the notebook.

"As you wish. So what the hell are we doing?"

Persephone sighed inwardly and began explaining to him how to do the work. As hard as she tried not to think about anything else, she kept finding her mind wondering to him whenever he looked away. She noted that he would stick his tongue out in the corner of his mouth when he was thinking and twirl his pencil as she explained things. It was a rough start, but he eventually began to catch on, whooping quietly to himself when he got it right.

"You know, I'm not that bad," he said, admiring his handiwork.

"I do believe we are finished, yes," she said with a smile. He rested his chin on his fist.

"Let me walk you home," he said suddenly. The bell started ringing and Persephone stood up and turned to leave. He caught her arm, stopping her dead in her tracks. "Let me walk you home," he repeated.

His eyes were serious as he awaited her response as if the whole world hinged on her answer. She wondered how he would look if she turned him down. She shouldn't and she knew it. Not because of some anxious dream, but out of practicality. She would always be hiding and it was unfair to him to be wrapped up in someone he could never truly know. But she wanted to. All logical parts of her brain were overwhelmed by the simple desire to connect with someone who wanted to be with her. This time, the demon and girl were in agreement.

"Ok, I have one more class. I'll meet you out front," she said and rushed out, reveling warm feeling of happiness growing in her belly.

###################################

The words on the pages began to blur together, floating away from their original positions to mock him in their incomprehensibility. Vergil growled and rubbed the bridge of his nose, his forehead throbbing and eyes dry. He slammed the book shut and laid his face in his hands. The morning quickly dissolved into afternoon as he poured through his volumes and volumes of books, looking for any hint of his father. As he rested his eyes, he couldn't help but to feel guilty, as if that brief moment of respite meant the difference between finding Mundus or dying by him. But there was nothing; it was like his father just fell off the face of the earth. So much was written of his life fighting Mundus, yet nothing of the time following.

With a swipe of his hand, he sent the books scattering across the floor. Along with them dropped a single brown envelope. He picked it up trying to remember where it had come from. Then it dawned on him. The blonde woman Dante had mentioned weeks ago. She had wanted them to locate her grandfather, and no doubt was furious with the wait. Vergil nearly opened it out of sympathy, but set it on the table instead.

"We both have missing people to find. Unfortunately, mine is more important."

##################################

Everything was shaking: her desk, the chair, her leg as she bounced it over and over anxiously. She could hardly focus on the words coming from her literature teacher, catching only the vague theme of feminism and Frankenstein. Mary Ann glared at her from her seat to the left and placed a hand on Persephone's knee. She stopped under the weight of her friend's touch and sighed. Slowly, she began taking notes again and watching the clock. The seconds ticked by until they finally the last bell sounded through the hallways. She quickly shot out of her desk and out the door, Mary Ann shouting behind her.

After briefly stopping at her locker to retrieve her bag, she walked out the front doors, joining the wave of students leaving. She stopped for a moment to look around and saw him standing off to the side, leaning on wall just to the left of the doors with his hands in his pockets. She waved and he smiled as she approached.

"Hey," she said.

"What no activities tonight?" he asked jokingly.

She shook her head. "Actually, I do, but there's some other stuff I need to do with my family."

"Oh, family stuff," he said and stood up straight. Persephone frowned slightly and remembered all the promises she had made to friends, teachers, and herself. Then more than anything, she wanted to confess to him.

"You want to know something? I was supposed to start taking a hip hop class at my mom's studio. We're doing a routine in show choir and I can't dance," she said as they began walking.

"What do you mean you can't dance?" he said with a laugh.

"I mean I can do tap, ballet, jazz, but I can't dance like a normal person. All my friends laugh about this one school dance and I don't blame them. I would describe myself as an acrobatic lumberjack with a peg leg," she said, dodging students in the quad.

She felt his hand slide up her arm and grasp her elbow. He pulled her closer, spinning her to face him.

"I could teach you how to dance. It's actually something I can do that you can't," he said. She held her breath as the blood rushed through her veins. He was close enough she could smell him, a sweet musk that she wanted to bury her face into.

"You are…." she started, gently and regretfully pushing him away.

"Charming?" he said, letting go of her arm.

"I was going to say, always making things tense."

He grinned. "Something you seem to like otherwise you wouldn't stick around. Shall we get going?"

They started walking again, and Persephone finally exhaled. Mark stopped and pointed towards the parking lot.

"I think that's your mom," he said his face clearly disappointed and a little angry.

Persephone followed his finger to where her mother leaned against her black car, dressed all in black, her red hair pulled back. Caleb and Gabriel sat on the hood and watched her, grinning wickedly. Her mother waved and Persephone felt a pit in her stomach. She wasn't going to hear the end of it, Caleb would see to that.

"I guess I have a ride," she said to Mark. "I will see you later. Rain check on the walk?"

She started walking towards her mother's car and Mark waved goodbye. As she approached the car, she saw her mother grinning devilishly.

"Hi, sweetie. Am I interrupting something?" she asked mischievously.

"No, mom. Why are you here?" she asked.

"We are all going to your uncle's," she said and snapped her fingers at the boys to get off the car.

"Hurry Sephie. I finally get to do something demonic," Caleb said, climbing into the back seat. He was grinning widely, eyes dancing with fantasies of whatever their father had in store. Persephone slipped into the passenger seat as Gabriel took his seat next to his brother. Their mother started the car and quickly pulled out of the parking lot. The smile from her face was gone and she stared at the street with steely resolve.

"Mom, is everything ok?" Persephone asked.

"Of course. It might just benefit everyone to get some practice in," her mother replied with a strained smile. Persephone turned away; worry growing quickly in her mind. _She's lying,_ the devil whispered and Persephone had to agree.

#######################################

They pulled in front of Dante's shop that appeared alarming without life. The windows were dark as was the neon sign above the door. Evangeline quickly clambered out of the car followed by her children. She turned around to pop the trunk.

"Persephone, grab your swords," she said and pointed to the trunk. Caleb nearly ran into the building and Evangeline frowned. As much as it would please Vergil and Dante, it bothered her how her youngest seemed to embrace his new reality. She desired a normal life and kept the fantasy alive in her heart in secret, and she had hoped that her children may feel the same.

"We've never been here before. Is this where uncle Dante lives?" Gabriel asked, staring distastefully at the sign with the silhouette of a gun toting woman.

"Sadly yes. You should thank me for supplying you a clean house," she said. Gabriel just wrinkled is nose and they entered the shop together. The room was as it always was: dark, dingy with the same jute box and couch in the corner and the desk near the wall. Whenever she entered the shop, she was always taken back to her first months with Vergil, and seeing her children in the shop gave her the strangest feeling that the world had come full circle.

Caleb was excitedly chatting at his uncle and father, hopping from foot to foot while Lady and Trish watched him with bemused expressions.

"So what do I do? Persephone has swords, what do I get?" he asked.

"You don't get a sword," Vergil said sternly.

"What do you mean? I'm ready to learn how to fight and how to be a demon," Caleb said, standing as straight as he could. He was tall, but not quite the height of his uncle and father, reaching only to just below Dante's chin. Standing next to them, he did not present an imposing figure but was still skinny from the teenage growth spurts.

"You will not be fighting demons face to face," Vergil said, crossing his arms.

"Seriously, that's bullshit," he snapped. Vergil straightened to stand at his full height, looming slightly over his son. Caleb tensed slightly, looking as if he wanted to shrink back but instead he steadied his gaze and looked his father straight in the eye.

"I'm going to assume that you already regret what you just said. And there is no arguing. Unless you have a devil trigger you haven't told us about you are not getting a blade or near a demon," Vergil said slowly. Caleb gritted his teeth and let out a hiss of air.

"Then why I am here? I'm just the odd human out aren't I? I'm a freak because I'm not a demon," he said, clenching his fists.

Vergil sighed, his expression softening. "Caleb, I can sympathize. I really can. But unless you awaken, you aren't getting into hand to hand combat with demons. That doesn't mean there aren't other things you can learn."

Caleb looked up and cocked his head. "What do you mean?"

Dante smiled. "You're going to need to defend yourself. I think learning to shoot is a good alternative," he said. Dante gave his brother a look. "Look, I'm corrupting your children with fire arms."

"Don't remind me," Vergil frowned and glanced at Evangeline. She didn't relish the prospect either, but in truth, it may be the only viable option.

Lady stepped up and placed a hand on Caleb's shoulder. "I'm human too, Cal. But, I have bigger fire power. I'll teach you everything you need to know to kill a demon."

"Can't we give him a bow or something?" Evangeline pleaded. "It's a distance weapon."

"Don't worry; he's starting with throwing knives. I need to see how good his aim is," Lady said with a smile that was not at all reassuring. She was almost as giddy as Dante with the prospect of teaching the fourteen year old. Evangeline sighed and rubbed her forehead.

Vergil turned his attention to Persephone. "Go change, I don't want you to looking like some ridiculous cartoon character fighting in a school uniform."

Persephone walked into the back room and Trish joined Evangeline and Caleb. "So, shall we get started?"

Evangeline took a deep breath, "I guess so. Duty calls. Gabe, I'm going to teach you how to scry for demons so to speak."

She walked over to the couch and settled into the musty cushions, fairly certain it was the same one from sixteen years ago. Quickly, she spared a glance towards Caleb who was grinning widely, watching Lady demonstrate how to throw a knife. She tossed one towards the dartboard, ending up just a few inches from the middle. Caleb took one small knife from her and flipped it with one hand before winding up and throwing it. The blade spun past and stuck directly in the middle of the board. Lady stared at the blade with shock as she removed it.

"Beginner's luck," she said and handed it back to him. Caleb just smiled and took it again from her. He turned his back to the board then spun around, throwing the blade as he did, sending it straight back to its spot in the middle. Lady just stared, glancing between the knife and Caleb.

"Try two," she said, handing him two more. With a sly grin he threw one immediately followed by the other. They embedded themselves neatly on either side of the one in the middle. Persephone stepped out of the back room in her old jeans and shirt and whistled at the display.

"So, what was that about my aim?" he asked with laugh. He looked Evangeline and she gave her son furtive thumbs up.

Evangeline sat back into the couch and breathed in, motioning for Gabriel to sit down next to her. "Alright. I'm going to be looking for a demon. Basically, I go into an altered state. I used to actually have to physically follow, but Trish came up with a good astral oil. You watch but don't enter. I don't want you getting lost."

"What demon?"

Evangeline paused. "Just a demon I need to find for your father."

Gabriel nodded. Evangeline grabbed his hand and could immediately feel his energy latching on. She was struck with how adept he was already. Trish took out a small vile of oil and dropped a bit on her forefinger. Whispering softly the words of a spell, she rubbed the oil on Evangeline forehead and just under her nose so that the sweet smell filled her nostrils. Evangeline began breathing in slowly, listening to the words flow past her ears and imagining the world peeling back in layers until it fell away completely. For a moment there was darkness until she opened her eyes and stared out at the scene before her. Everything was darkened and tinted slightly gray, as if a hazy mist hung in the air. She could hear noises, but they were muffled and faint. Caleb was watching his Aunt explain the parts of a gun at the desk and Persephone was attempting to imitate a parry that her father was demonstrating.

Evangeline stood up and turned around to see her body slumped in the couch, Trish leaning over her. She took a few steps and Caleb watched her walk. She grinned and waved and he waved back. Her attention returned to the task at hand and she started imagining the three red orbs staring at her in hell. The memory made her skin crawl, but she clung to it tightly.

"I need you to guide me," she whispered. She could feel her eyes burning in her body, the sensation quickly traveling to her spirit. That's when she saw her brother appear next her, still the teenager she remembered. His face was motionless as he turned and walked towards the door, disappearing through it, a red light illuminating his path. Evangeline followed, the sensation of movement akin to floating. Though she felt like she was walking, she was merely appearing wherever she wanted to go next. In a blink she was outside only to find out that the red path had disappeared.

Evangeline looked around the street, watching as the buildings shifted ever so slightly in the gray mist. Echoes of the humans on the streets reached her ears, fuzzy and indistinct. Everywhere she looked were remnants of demons that left only flashes of color where they had once existed, former victims of Dante, Lady, and Trish no doubt. She closed her eyes and again imagined Mundus and the three red orbs staring back at her.

She opened her eyes and looked at the people rushing around her. She was in the middle of a bustling sidewalk somewhere deep in the heart of Central City's business district. Most of the people waked right through her while the more spiritually astute sidestepped her out of instinct. Every person walking, chatting, and milling around was awash in grey, unexceptional in any way. Her eyes darted around in confusion, looking for any sign of the demon she was looking for. He should be there, or rather, something should be there.

Then out of the corner of her eye, a flash of red. She turned her head and saw someone turn the nearby corner to another street. She started forward, passing through the bodies blocking her path. She rounded the corner and searched desperately down the street that was filled with even more people. The red flash darted in and out of her vision and she couldn't pinpoint the location amongst the moving bodies. She chased the red light, trying to keep it in her sight when suddenly she was stopped.

Evangeline grasped her chest that was heavy with pressure as something tried to pull her spirit elsewhere. The buildings of downtown began to warp before fading away, the people swirling into darkness. In front of her a black hole opened up and on the other side, a destroyed marble floor. A hulking mass stood on the other side, beckoning her forward. As she stepped towards the hole, she felt another tug this time soft and familiar. Someone was speaking to her body, pulling her spirit back. She recognized the words of the spell and cried out when her spirit was ripped from the street and back into her body.

With a gasp she sat up in the couch, the world suddenly bright, loud, and in full color. Trish caught her before she tumbled completely from the couch and Gabriel still clutched her hand.

"I'm sorry. I had to bring you back," Trish said. Evangeline could hear yelling, but it was too loud to her still unadjusted body. Her spirit was still struggling to find its place.

"Dammit, Persephone!"

Evangeline's head shot up and she saw Vergil looming over his daughter, gripping her by one wrist. Persephone winced, trying to wrench her arm from her father, one of her swords on the ground.

"Dad you're hurting me," she whimpered, eyes wide with fear.

"You think that hurts, imagine if a demon got a hold of you and you can't do a simple block," he yelled. His mouth was hard in a scowl, his eyes boring into his daughter as if he might strike her. Dante quickly stepped forward and grasped Vergil's hand. Vergil looked at his brother and with a disgusted noise dropped Persephone's thin wrist. She clasped her wrist to her chest and slunk backwards.

"You're not even trying," Vergil said to her.

"I am trying," she shot back.

"By the time I was your age I was already slaying high level demons. You can hardly hold a sword you're so afraid of your shadow," he said, jabbing a finger into her face.

"Vergil, she missed one attack," Dante said, his face a mask of shock at his brother's display.

"One attack? One attack is the difference between life and death," Vergil growled at him. He turned his gaze to Persephone. "You are weak and if you don't get stronger you will die. You will die, your brothers may die, and innocent people who rely on you will die. You are not acting like a descendant of Sparda or like the hunter you should be."

Persephone looked at the floor then raised her cold blue eyes to meet her fathers. She dropped the brown sword she was holding, letting it fall to floor with a clatter. Evangeline moved her lips and tongue, trying to find her voice again desperately wanting to stop the events unfolding.

"You're right. I'm not a devil hunter. I'm not you. But you know what I am? Done. I am done," she hissed and spun around, heading towards the door.

"Don't you dare leave," Vergil shouted the threat heavy in his voice. Persephone sneered and continued walking. Vergil's eyes widened slightly when he realized his daughter was disobeying his order and he started after her with a growl. Dante jumped in front him and placed a hand on his chest as Persephone walked out the doors.

"Get the hell out of my way," Vergil growled, reaching for his sword.

"Verg, you're too angry to go after her," Dante said calmly, but his hand still crept towards the hilt of Rebellion. Evangeline managed a guttural groan and rose to her feet. She stumbled over to the two brothers, and pushed her way between.

"You…." She coughed and shoved Vergil backwards. She tried to assemble her voice, her spirit still reeling from the quick return to her body. "You will stay right here."

"Get out the way Evangeline," Vergil said his tension easing ever so slightly in her presence.

"Absolutely, fucking not," she snapped and gave him another shove. "You don't get to say a damn word to her."

"She is not prepared for what is coming and doesn't care. I already knew…."

Evangeline cut him off with one raised hand. "I know exactly what you are going to say. You were going to say that you were already some mighty warrior by her age. But you know what? She isn't you. I get it, I made a mistake keeping it secret, but you are making a bigger mistake by pushing her away. This is turning into a nightmare for her and you are not helping by constantly comparing her to some ideal."

"She's a demon. She needs to start acting like one," Vergil snapped.

"She's also your daughter or did you forget that?" Evangeline snapped back. Vergil's shoulders fell and he looked away. "I'm going to take the boys home and go find her. You are staying here tonight. Take some time to think."

Vergil glared daggers at her but remained silent. Evangeline motioned for the boys and they quickly gathered their things and left the building. After they left, the room was silent. Lady and Trish exchanged glances as Dante stared at his brother.

"Verg…" he started.

"Shut up, Dante. If I don't force her, Mundus is going to kill her," he said and started towards the stairs.

"We should really talk about this," Dante called after him. Vergil ignored his brother and entered the second floor, heading towards the roof. His anger was white hot in his blood and he knew that any conversation would send it rushing forth to anyone unlucky enough to be in his way. His thoughts were a blur of Mundus, Persephone's defiant stare, and the image of her death. His fingers itched for a kill, anything to direct his anger and worry towards.

##########################################

The sun was quickly setting, sending the chill of darkness into the world. Persephone was lost and didn't care. Every building and person she passed was a hazy blue. She could feel a deep stirring within her making every muscle ache. The demon was clawing at her heart, begging to be let out. Someone bumped into her as she walked and she snapped her head towards him.

"Hey watch it," he said then his eyes grew wide. Persephone saw the blue wisps of power dancing off her skin and quickly rushed away from the man and to the shelter of a nearby alley. She leaned against the wall, letting in a staggered breath of cold air. Slowly, the anger leaked out of her, running out her feet and into the night. Replacing it was the hot prick of tears in her eyes and hollow echo.

The world had finally shattered into a million pieces and she was left holding the jagged parts. In one bloody hand the demon of her father, in the other, the girl she once was. She wanted to put them back together, to be a whole person again, but nothing seemed to fit. She stared up into the darkening sky unsure of what to feel towards it. The stars were where the millions of people looked towards for help, but they existed only in the darkness, and Persephone knew that demons existed in the darkness. She finally had the opportunity to escape and yet, did not know which direction to go.

However, she knew she didn't want to be alone in the dark, but didn't know who to turn to. Her home was not an option and her friends would ask too many questions that she wasn't prepared to answer. She took out her phone and unlocked the screen.

_Can you meet me? Please, _she typed then waited for a response. What seemed like an eternity later, her phone buzzed.

_Where? _Mark had typed. Persephone smiled and the tears started rushing down her face out of relief. She walked out of the alley, searching for street signs to direct him.

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><p><em><strong>There it is. May be a slight wait for the next one, I'm testing for my next belt soon. Peace!<strong>_


	10. Chapter 10: The Hunter

_**Hello, thank you to all who reviewed and read! Again, all are welcome to comment. I love feedback (don't be shy). I really hope you enjoy this next chapter.**_

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><p>The city stretched into the night like a tapestry woven of shadowed cement and flickering lights. Businesses had shut their doors and residents had settled in for the night to await the next day of work and school. Vergil searched the sky, finding only a pale moon and faded stars. His feet dangled over the edge of roof over the dark alley below. Though he was like the many others still awake, he felt separate and distinct, as if the tiny building he perched upon was a mountain staring down at the small humans below. His eyes wondered into the distance with some small hope that he could see her despite the foolishness of it.<p>

He turned his head slightly when he heard a loud grunt. Dante pulled himself up through the small hatch that led to the roof and walked to the edge, peering over with his brother.

"Hey, man," he said. "Not thinking about jumping are you?"

Vergil only glowered at the attempt at a joke. "What do you want?"

"I thought you might want to talk. That's usually what emotional adjusted people do. I know it's a little unusual for us, but I think we should give it shot," Dante said and sat down on the edge next to him. Vergil sighed, realizing he would never leave him alone with his thoughts.

"She has no idea what she is facing. Demons could just tear through her and Mundus…he would crush her with just a thought. She's weak," Vergil said.

"Of course she has no idea. She didn't go what we went through. We were nine when our childhood ended. She'll get stronger, just be patient," Dante said, nudging him slightly with his elbow.

"Dante you don't understand," Vergil said softly, turning to his brother. "I can't bury my child, but I can't protect her forever."

His words hung heavy in the air, thickening the silence around them. Dante sighed and nodded.

"You're right. Now I know you tend to show you care through anger and small amounts of violence, but I don't think that is going to work for teaching her," he said.

"All this thinking about her feelings. Demons don't care," Vergil scoffed.

"Mom cared. I remember you two talking all the time about everything under the sun. You told her every single thought and feeling you had and she listened. Persephone is exactly like you, without the cold and jaded exterior," Dante replied. Vergil smiled slightly as he remembered his conversations with his mother. They would curl up on the porch swing and talk for hours until the sun disappeared behind the horizon.

"I don't know how to teach her. We already knew how to use a sword when we were children. It was natural for us to be warriors. Why isn't it like that for her?"

Dante laughed loudly, his voice echoing off the walls of the alley. A light flickered on from a nearby building as the sound settled. Vergil lifted an eyebrow towards his brother as he wiped away a tear.

"Verg, hell fried your brain. There was no we exactly. Things were completely different for the two of us. I picked fights, you picked up a book. I recall fighting my way through the streets and that was how I learned: by getting the crap beat out of me. You were always methodical, looking for the perfect technique. But the best teaching tool was having a reason to do it all. Help her find her reason to fight. That's what dad always taught us," Dante said. Vergil looked at his brother, a half grin playing on his face.

"You are, on great occasion, incredibly insightful," Vergil complimented. Dante shrugged and cracked his knuckles.

"Well, I am the smart one and the better looking one," he said. "Come on. You can have the couch while you're in the doghouse."

#####################################

The small, gold cylinder rolled around in his palm as he examined it. It was completely sealed, appearing without any seams despite something rattling inside.

"What is it?" Mark asked, closing his fingers around it.

"That's for me to know and you to not ask," Cyrus replied. They were inside the office overlooking the warehouse. Cyrus had set up a small bed in the corner and filled the walls of the room with maps and photos with a single laptop glowing in the center of it all. Sitting prominently next to the computer was a handgun and a large curved dagger that had been blessed long ago for the purpose of killing demons. Cyrus never let it out of his sight.

"So what do you want me to do?" Mark asked, frustrated with the older man's silence.

"You need to make a copy of the lock. Remember how to do that?" Cyrus said, lifting up a glass of dark liquid and taking a swig.

Mark looked at him out of the corner of his eye, catching the strong scent of liquor. "I do. How am I supposed to do this without getting killed?"

"Keep getting close to the girl, Romeo. If she thinks you're just some hapless teenage boy falling for her charms she won't be suspicious and you can find an opening. You are just another soul she is corrupting. But don't let it go too far and steer clear of the other demons," Cyrus said and winked quickly. He held out his hand and Mark placed the gold cylinder in it.

"You mind explaining this master plan since I am risking my life and immortal soul," Mark asked.

"Nope. The less you know the better. You can't spoil the plan if you don't know it," Cyrus replied.

"Why don't I just kill her? She's leaving ample opportunity."

"You wouldn't be able to kill her," Cyrus murmured, leaning over his laptop and pressing a few keys. "She's not some weakling like you're used to. I know of these demons. They aren't a joke. Speaking of which, when was the last time you hunted a demon?"

"Too busy with flirting and homework," Mark scoffed. "Apparently, now my ample skills are only good for lock picking."

"Don't feel bad kiddo. You're the only one I trust not get caught up in her or just blow it by freaking out. Now get out. I have work to do," Cyrus said, looking up with a hard stare.

Mark threw up his arms in defeat and stormed out. There were times he hated Cyrus and his pedantic manner. This wasn't the first time he threw them into a situation with only vague orders. The plans turned out, but someone always ended up getting hurt. He climbed the short steps to the gangway overlooking the warehouse and walked to edge, as far away as possible from his companions. He leaned over the railing and sighed heavily, closing his eyes.

His thoughts were moving too fast and he couldn't seem to grip one before another one pushed its way forward. Cyrus, Persephone, the entire situation was too complicated. Things were simpler when it was one demon and a gun, no scheming and no lying. He fought many demons in his short life, each one without question. When did they start posing as families? When did it all get too damn confusing?

A heavy hand landed on his shoulder and Mark looked up from his reverie. Jon smiled at him in his usual devil-may-care way. He could almost envy his friend's ability to just go with the flow, the way nothing seemed to stun him.

"I see you had a riveting conversation with Cyrus," Jon said and leaned on the railing next to Mark.

"I suppose you could call it that," Mark said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "So tell me that Cyrus has told you something."

"Nah, man. He wouldn't tell me anything. You seem really tense. More so than the usual Cyrus tense."

"I can't figure this whole thing out," Mark said, slamming his hands down on the railing. "What is the end game? Why are they pretending to be a family? Why go to high school? It just doesn't make any sense."

"Who knows, they're demons. Their only motivation is to be evil. They probably use the kids to lure them in and then, I don't know corrupt them? Steal their souls? Isn't that what teenage girls are good for?" Jon said with a laugh.

Mark just shook his head. "We have no victims. I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary, and none of people around them are acting strange."

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he quickly checked the text. _Can you meet me? Please._ He furtively placed the phone back in his pocket, keeping his face calm.

"Dude, they are demons. You know that they are, Cyrus knows about them, the stone glowed red. What does it matter what they want as long as they end up dead?" Jon said, firmly.

"I don't know…" Mark murmured.

Jon smacked Mark's shoulder with the back of his hand. "Don't tell me you are second guessing."

Mark pushed off the railing and walked a few steps from his friend. "Yes, I am having doubts," he said then turned back towards Jon. "What if we don't have the full story about this? If we are wrong, then we are just as bad as they are."

Jon grabbed Mark roughly by the shoulders. "I'm your best friend, so I know you are just thinking too much about this. They are devils and that is it. Devils are evil and need to be exterminated. You know that, so don't forget it no matter how cute this chick is."

Mark sighed and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I just think too much and they are damn convincing."

"Good, glad I could set you straight. Now don't worry about me telling anyone about this. Without you I'm out a wing man and that just will not fly," Jon said and patted him on the shoulder.

Mark stepped out of his friend's grasp and started towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Jon called.

Mark turned slightly and kept walking. "Hunting. Got to get my head straight."

He quickly descended the stairs and walked across the warehouse, avoiding eye contact with any of the group milling around. Rose sat with the others eating their various forms of takeout. Mark opened the door and stepped through as quietly as possible without looking like he was hiding. Parked out front were several rusted pick-up trucks and SUVs and a large van parked next to Cyrus's motorcycle. He clambered into the black SUV and put the keys in the ignition before pulling out his phone. _Where?_ he typed and sent then awaited the response. Buzz. _Stonearch Park_. He turned the key and the engine sputtered to a start.

############################################

It had started to rain as she waited on the park bench. Her white hair was plastered down the side of her face and her t-shirt and black pants were soaked through. She clutched her arms across her chest and shuddered as the goose bumps crawled up to her neck. The rain had stopped, but a cold wind continued to blow, tossing up droplets from the trees surrounding her.

"Ok Persephone. Next time you storm out, be sure to bring a jacket," she whispered. The park she had chosen was a tiny wooded square near the edge of downtown. No one had walked by on the sidewalk since she had settled there. They had the common sense not to go rushing out into the night. Everything was eerily still after the rain, and she had the brief fantasy that the word had suddenly become empty.

She knew it was late, and as the minutes passed by, she wondered if Mark would show up. Slowly, she shook her head wondering how she could be so stupid. Guys don't rushing out into a stormy night to meet odd, emotional girls they hardly knew. Burying her face into her hands, she sighed heavily still shaking from the cold. The rumble of engine from the road reached her ears and her head shot up. A black truck pulled up along the street and parked. The door opened and Mark stepped out and walked around the front.

Persephone stood up as he trotted up to her. He wore a black shirt and jeans, looking like the first time she had met him. His eyes were wide with bewilderment and what she hoped was worry.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked, spreading his arms. There was a lightness in his voice and Persephone felt her body relax.

"You came. I can't believe you actually did. I mean, you hardly know me so why would you bother? I know I should have contacted someone else…but for some reason I needed to see you," she said hurriedly.

He walked up to her and placed his hands on her bare arms. They were hot against her frigid skin. "It's ok. I wanted to come. Are you alright?"

Persephone shook her head, feeling the tears press against her eyes. She quickly sat down on the bench. "No. I'm not."

Mark sat down on next her, the wooden bench sighing a little from the extra weight. Warmth radiated from him and she wanted nothing more than to lean against him to feel more of it. She sighed heavily.

"You want to talk about it?" he finally asked.

"Things are such a mess," she breathed. Every single thought was pushing against her brain, begging to be said. "I have no idea what I am doing and I'm just pissing off everyone around me because I can't my shit together."

"What happened?" he asked, his eyes steady on her face, confusion floating in their depths. She watched him, looking for any sign of what he was thinking.

"I'm sorry; I just dragged you out here for an emotional breakdown," she said ashamed that she had even asked him to meet her. As his fingers intertwined with hers, she looked up to see only worry in his stare.

"Like I told you, I wanted to come," he said with a slight smile. She closed her eyes and turned away, but could not prevent a few hot tears escaping down her cheeks.

"I am such a mess," she whispered. "Everything has fallen apart and I don't know what to do."

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Persephone looked up and over the empty park. The darkness had reached its peak, tucking the world into silence and sleep. "My dad keeps pushing me towards something I don't want, but I can't get rid of. It's going to be a part of my life no matter what I do. I just want things to be like they were. To make sense again."

"So how did you end up out here? Your parents are probably worried," Mark said softly.

The image of her father's angry face pushed its way to the front of her thoughts and she shuffled her feet uncomfortably. "I may have yelled at my dad. But he just keeps pushing and pushing and not listening to me."

"What would you tell him if you could?"

Persephone looked down at her feet, her shoes slightly muddied. All her rebelling against what he wanted, did she really know why?

"I would tell him that I'm afraid of being someone else. I feel like I'm fading away and all they want is to replace me with a stranger. They want me to be someone, but I want to be person I should be and they don't mesh," she explained. The entire situation sounded alarmingly pathetic even though she was living it.

Mark shrugged. "Why don't you just try being Persephone?"

She turned her head towards him, confusion written across her brow. Mark chuckled when he saw her face.

"You didn't seem to have a problem just being you or saying exactly what you thought. Remember the first thing you said to me? I knew after that we would be friends. So instead of trying to be what your parents want or what you think you should be, try just being who you are right now," he said.

The advice was simple, but his words cut through the clutter in her head like knife through water. She had spent her entire life building up the person she thought she should be. The person she felt the world would embrace. Did she ever stop to wonder if that was actually the person who would make her happy?

"You seem to have a lot of insight into this," she said. He let go of her hand and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Really, I'm just a hypocrite. When you are keeping silent, you have a lot of time to think about these things," he replied.

"So what is it that you want?" she asked. He looked at her, his expression indecipherable. The space between them grew heavy as she waited for his answer.

"You. Right now, all I want is you," he said. Persephone's heart beat faster like it would tear itself in two. One part of her wanted to bring him closer; the other wanted him to run away. He had no idea and she could never let him know.

"You don't want me. I have something no one would want," she said, feeling the tears well up in her eyes.

He shook his head in confusion, his eyes heavy with rejection. "What could it possibly be?"

"Do you believe in devils?" she asked and immediately regretted it. He jerked backwards like he had been slapped.

"What do you mean?" he asked slowly, narrowing his eyes.

"No, not devils. I mean evil. Do you believe that there are bad things out there and just bad things in people? Those ugly things out in the world that you can't control," she asked. She didn't know how he would react to the question, but she needed to know the answer.

"I do. Why are you asking?" He asked, his eyes searching her face.

"I asked because there's something wrong with me. Something bad," she confessed.

He reached up and gently grasped her face between his calloused hands, forcing her to stare at him. His brown eyes stared deeply into hers as if trying to dredge up some secret from inside of her. He brushed his thumb over her cheek and she shuddered at the touch.

"Persephone, are you evil?" he whispered. His eyes continued to bore their way into her, worried and pleading. Her entire body shook as she tried to answer, the tears now falling freely. She didn't feel evil, but she could feel it inside of her. Devils were supposed to be the essence of all things bad in the world, but all she felt like was a scared girl.

"No and I don't want to be," Persephone answered, shaking her head. The relief that radiated from him was nearly palpable, washing over her in a gentle wave.

The silent acknowledgement was instantaneous and the tension between them was obliterated. They flowed together, his warm lips pressing against her trembling ones. For the briefest moment, her heart stopped as the world dissolved into that single moment that had waited far too long for its realization. His arm wrapped around her waist and she moved closer, letting him break away to kiss her cheek and then her neck. She closed her eyes to enjoy the rush of blood to the places his lips touched. He stopped and looked at her with the same soulful brown eyes she had dreamt about so many times. She leaned forward and kissed him again, soft and chastely. Her blood was singing and every fiber of her being was begging her for more, but she pulled away and rested her forehead against his. He breathed heavily, his hands gripping her waist tightly.

"You know my mom always told me to never kiss a man after you have been crying," Persephone said.

"Why is that?" he laughed.

"To make sure you don't make bad decisions," she replied, gently stroking his hair. "Don't take this the wrong way."

She reluctantly scooted away from him. He held on for a moment before releasing her, and she immediately missed the feeling of his hands. Mark smiled.

"You are good at making things tense," he said with a chuckle. She laughed at her own words repeated back to her.

"There are so many things I want right now. But I need to take care of home," she said. "Thank you."

"Do you want a ride home?" he asked as she stood up.

"Getting in the car with you would probably be one of those bad decisions," she said with a sly smile. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Persephone bit her lip and forced herself to turn away, regretting each step that took her further away from him. But she needed to go home and face her father while she still had the courage.

#################################

Mark didn't move as he watched her walk away. Every movement of her arm and sway of her hips engrained themselves into his brain. She was ethereal, too beautiful to be just human. His heart still pounded in his chest even when she rounded the corner and was gone. The park was silent and lifeless, but he couldn't bring himself to walk away, but instead relished the cool breeze and the lingering taste of her on his lips.

"Well done."

Mark jumped at the sound of the voice behind him and spun around. Cyrus stepped out from behind the trees, followed by Jon.

"Cyrus," he said, dumbstruck. "You followed me?"

"Jon said you went hunting. Didn't know what kind it would be," Cyrus said with a smile and took the spot on the bench where Persephone was. "Nicely played by the way."

"Why didn't you just kill her," Jon demanded angrily.

"Because I told him not to," Cyrus snapped.

"Why would you do that?" Jon exclaimed angrily.

"Ants. They are like ants. If they catch wind of one of their own dead, they will swarm and we won't have a chance. We get them at once or we don't get them at all," Cyrus explained and returned his gaze to Mark. "So how was it?"

A pit formed in Mark's stomach as he sat under Cyrus' hard gaze. He wondered what the older man had saw of their encounter, or more importantly, what he thought of it. Mark carefully picked through possible answers, trying to figure out what would be close enough to the truth to sound convincing.

"It was…tense," he said. Cyrus stared at him for a brief moment longer before laughing, but the smile never reached his eyes.

"Don't worry so much about it," Cyrus said, clapping Mark on the shoulder. "She's convincing, even had me fooled for a few moments. Don't be ashamed for feeling a little something."

"I didn't feel anything," Mark said. He saw Jon raise his eyebrow over Cyrus' shoulder.

Cyrus just shook his head, clearly unconvinced. "Well, good self-control than. But trust me when I say to be careful. These guys aren't to be fooled around with."

"Do you mind imparting your wisdom upon us and explaining how you know all this?" Mark asked coolly.

"I know that her uncle and father nearly leveled an entire city, and I know that they will do it again. I don't know what they are planning, but I'm not waiting around to find out. Demons don't form happy families. They have one goal in mind; destroying humans. Demons are evil and we do the world a favor by wiping them off the earth," Cyrus said, sneering at whatever memory he possessed.

Mark breathed in deeply. _Demons are evil_, he thought. The words were true, but they felt like he was telling himself a lie. He knew she was demon, but couldn't grasp the image of it when she was crying in the middle of the night. Cyrus watched him with cold eyes and Mark nodded.

"Demons are evil. I know that lesson," Mark said, grasping onto the image of his parents. Cyrus nodded, at least pretending to be convinced.

##################################

Persephone regretted not taking Mark up on his offer for a ride about two miles into her journey home. She forgot her wallet, her bus pass, and her money during her storm out of her uncle's shop and was left to trek home on foot. The night grew increasingly chilly as she walked, so she kept increasing her pace to maintain some body heat. After crossing the bridge that connected downtown to the residential neighborhoods, everything grew hushed, as if the world was awaiting the storm that would arrive when she returned home.

The houses were quiet and dark, their inhabitants well into their slumbers. Persephone briefly wondered what time it was and what someone would think of her walking the streets at night. She scoffed at the thought. What could it possibly matter what they thought? She increasingly wondered how much of her time was spent on contemplating what others thought of her. Mark's advice flitted across her mind and she stood a little taller as she walked. To hell with the world.

The memory of their kiss still lingered on her lips. She touched them briefly with cold fingers and smiled. As she was lost in her thoughts, she walked the way home automatically. Suddenly, she caught a flash of blue out of the corner of her eye. Her head snapped towards it and she expected to see her father. Instead, there was only a hedge with nothing spectacular hidden in its branches. Even so, she quickened her pace to her home, soon coming to her street. When she spied her house she began jogging, stealing glances behind her until she arrived in her front yard.

Everything was dark and still. For a brief second she was offended that no one was there to yell at her. What she had expected was her father to be sitting on the front stoop, glowering at her arrival. She imagined the look on his face and shivered as she walked up to the front door. Bracing herself, she opened the front door slowly and stepped inside.

As she closed the door, she caught the scent of cigarette smoke. A single red amber danced in front of her on the steps.

"Welcome home," her mother said. Persephone's eyes adjusted to the dark and she could make out her mother sitting third step. Persephone reached for the light switch next to the door and flicked on the lights of the foyer. Her mother squinted with the sudden brightness and flicked some ash into a cup sitting on the steps next to her.

"Mom, you smoke?" Persephone exclaimed. It wasn't exactly the first words she was planning on saying, but the oddity of the situation required a deviation from her planned spiel.

"I used to before you were born. Honestly, your father couldn't have been happier when I was forced to quit. However, I felt tonight warranted a return of a bad habit. This one at least, not my other bad habits," her mother said with a smile and raised the cigarette to her lips again.

"What other bad habits?" Persephone asked warily.

"Sex and drugs," her mother said flatly and flicked away more ash. "Why don't you sit down."

Persephone remained standing. "Where's dad?"

"He is staying with your uncle tonight," her mother replied with a sigh. "I'm not going to yell at you, so please sit down."

With a wary look, Persephone took a seat next to her mother on the stairs. They sat in silence for a few minutes, her mother taking slow drags of her cigarette while Persephone wrinkled her nose at the smell. The lack of conversation became unbearable.

"He hurt me," Persephone finally said. Her mother nodded.

"I know he did."

"I'm just a big disappointment to him," Persephone replied softly.

"You're not a disappointment," her mother said, shaking her head. "He's scared for you. Not to say that he was justified, just that he isn't very good at expressing himself."

"I've never even seen a demon before. You say it is so dangerous but nothing has ever hurt me," Persephone said almost unable to believe their claims.

Her mother dropped the remainder of her cigarette into the cup and turned her back to Persephone. She slowly pulled off her shirt and Persephone gasped. Her mother had always covered herself up with long sleeves and high collars out of what Persephone assumed was a strange prudishness. In that reveal, she realized it was to hide the deep scars crossing her back. They were thick and raised, leaving almost every surface marred. Her mother turned around and revealed four scars in a perfect diamond in the middle of her chest. Her face was calm as she covered herself again with her shirt.

"The danger is very real. I wasn't even a devil, didn't even believe they existed. Yet they still found me. You have enjoyed safety because we have done everything we can to keep them away. But we can't stop them forever," she said simply. Persephone tried to steady her beating heart from her mother's calm reveal. It was like she was explaining the ingredients of a casserole; completely devoid of any attachment. What she wanted was for her to yell because Persephone had the perfect response to that reaction. Instead, she wasn't sure what to say to her mother's simple statement of facts.

"I'm sorry that happened to you," Persephone whispered.

Her mother only shrugged. "I stopped having nightmares a long time ago. Everything is simply what it is."

"Mom, I don't think I want to be like dad. I just want to hide it and go back to my life," Persephone blurted, unable to contain it.

Her mother looked her in the eye, the green of her irises were a stark contrast from the demonic essence around them.

"Think hard about this. Here are the simple truths. You are part devil and that will always be there. You have Sparda's blood, so demons will always hate you and will one day come after you. Your father, your uncle, all of your family, we will always be a part of the world, so will you because of it." Her mother placed a hand over hers. "However, you are allowed to make your own decisions. That is your right as a human. I'm not going to force anything upon you, but you will have to live with the consequences. That includes being the one to tell your father."

Persephone looked at her feet as the words sank in. "He's going to be mad."

"Well, you are smashing the dream he had since you were born. He still believes he can shape you into some great ideal that he has. It was never going to happen, but doesn't mean he wasn't to try," her mother replied.

"Are you angry?" Persephone asked.

"I'm surprised. You were never one to run away from a challenge. But, I can understand because it was all I wanted for a long time. Not angry though," she answered with a soft smile.

Persephone laughed. "You know. I was super pissed at you for keeping it a secret. Now I am super pissed for knowing about it and at dad for pushing it."

"It's called being a teenager. If you're not mad at someone then you are doing it wrong," her mother said and stood up. "Wait here. I have a gift for you."

She ran into the living room and as Persephone waiting, hearing the sounds of rustling and a brief thud and curse. Her mother emerged from the other room with a large leather book in hand and presented it to Persephone. She took it gingerly from her mother's hands and opened it to the first page. It was a drawing of man who looked awfully like her father, all dressed in purple.

"It's your grandfather. Artist rendering of course, but as close as I could get with descriptions," her mother said excitedly.

"He looks just like dad," Persephone said with a small smile. _Just like me._

"I know. It's those damn Sparda genes. You think at least one of my children could be short or a red head. You're like a tiny clone army," her mother said with a frown.

"What is it exactly?" Persephone said, examining the picture closely.

"It's a memoir, or a grimoire if you prefer, of everything. My story, your father's, grandma and grandpa on both sides. It's not done yet because I'm still missing your uncle and your aunt's stories. But there's the entire story of me and your father. I was hoping this might help you answer some questions," her mother explained.

"I'll take good care of it," Persephone promised and tucked it against her chest. "I think I'm going to go to bed now."

"Ok. I'll see you in the morning," her mother said. Persephone stood up and climbed the stairs with book in hand. In her room, she stared at the leather bound, family history feeling the urge to open it. Instead, she placed it on her desk, changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed. She was warm again, and felt her eyes grow heavy. Everything still lay in pieces, but she at least knew where a few of them lay in the puzzle of her life. As she drifted into sleep, she returned to the park and Mark holding her tightly in the darkness.

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Mara's dreams were silent, devoid of his presence. All she saw were the random images generated by her human brain. She searched for him amongst the corridors of her mind, only to find loneliness. A single loud ring ripped her from her search and she opened her eyes. The room was dark; morning had not yet decided to arise from its slumber. The bed was uncomfortably hot and she groaned as she sat up. She grabbed the phone from the nightstand and sleepily brought it to her ear.

"This is Mara," she said, her voice dry and gruff.

"It's Cyrus," the heavy male voice responded.

"Cyrus. Why the hell are you calling?" she snapped.

"Things are getting tense for my group. They won't be sitting idly forever and neither will I. I need to know that you are going to have everything in place," Cyrus said.

"Cyrus, I am aware that patience is not a virtue of yours, but keep it fucking together. I will tell you when you can attack as soon as things are ready. Unless you want to face Vergil and Dante? In which case, I will just sit back a watch," she said coldly.

"What can possibly be taking you so long?" he said after a long pause.

"In order to destroy one's enemies completely, patience is needed. Don't worry about what I am doing," she snapped and hung up the phone. Her hand shook as she dropped it on the nightstand. Rage surged through every fiber of her body and she gripped the edge of the bed tightly as if it would prevent her from flying off into a million pieces. This was not what she intended. Everything was so clear a few months before, and now all she could do was wait and hope she was correct.

A small blue mist slipped into the room from between the window sill. It hovered in front of her as a shapeless mass. She sneered at the demon.

"Which one are you?" she asked.

"I am the third eye," it whispered.

"What news do you have about the excavation?" Mara demanded, rubbing her forehead. It was such a worthless action, but she never been able to break the habit.

"They dug up the final location. There is nothing mistress," it whispered.

Mara released the bed and shot up. "How fucking hard is this?" she screamed.

The blue demon seemed to waver. She knew it didn't understand; it was nothing more than a pawn of its master. With a growl, she swiped her hand through its misty blue form, dispersing it into a million particles that simply reformed around her arm.

"We know that goddamn tomb is there. Why can't we find it?" she hissed, clutching her pounding head. She paced the room, trying to gain control of herself. Everything began to spin and she slumped against the bed, laying her head against the cover.

"Father, why have you forsaken me," she sobbed. With every shuddered breath, tears flowed down her cheeks. Silently, she begged for him to hear her, reaching deep into her soul where he resided. She was met with only silence. Slowly, the realization that he was not listening began to harden her resolve. She wiped the tears away from her cheeks and stood up. He hadn't forsaken her; she had failed him with her pathetic human need for his guidance. Her weakness was showing, and all could see it.

"Tell your master I'm returning," she said. The blue demon floated between the window sill and out into the night. Mara began packing her things into a small suitcase.

"I need a heart of stone. Patience. My time will come," she said as she folded her clothing.

_Good girl_, whispered from the depths of her soul. His almighty voice resonating through every vein.

#####################################

Vergil had found Mundus. He had taken the form of Dante's couch in order to destroy them vertebrae by vertebrae. How Dante and the girls had managed to still take naps on the godforsaken thing, Vergil had no idea. As soon as he had sat up, he heard the crack of his back snapping back into place after a restless night. While trying to fall asleep, he tried to decipher his daughter's mind to figure out how he could make her listen to him. Just before sleep took him, the idea sprung to mind and he could have kicked himself it was so simple. It seemed his family was right about one thing; he did think far too deeply.

Before anyone else at Devil May Cry awoke, Vergil had slipped away and into the early afternoon light. He wanted to run and stretch to relieve the pain in his back, but daytime was the human domain and a mysterious man running across rooftops would arise suspicion. So he walked home instead, feeling out of place. It had been a long time since he was out at this time of day. Nighttime hunting required mornings be used for sleeping and he usually did not emerge until early evening. But the sun was warm on his face and he began to remember the many walks he took with Persephone and the boys when they were babies. Yamato's light jingle accompanied him on his walk and he was surprised to catch himself smiling slightly.

Soon the house came into view and the pleasantness of the afternoon quickly dissipated. Evangeline was inside; he could sense her moving around. This was the first occasion she had ever kicked him out of the house, and despite their many years together, he couldn't quite figure out he was supposed to approach her. He scoffed at his hesitation. It was his home and he had a right to it, angry woman or no. Vergil marched up the walkway and to the front door. He halted with his hand on the knob as the door swung open to reveal Evangeline standing there. She crossed her arms, her eyes as steely as his own.

"Good morning," she said calmly. Vergil glared at her and stood up straight.

"Good morning," he replied just as coolly. They waged a silent battle of wills, neither one willing to blink. Vergil wondered if he could simply set her aside and go ahead with the hot shower he was planning.

"How was Dante's couch?" Evangeline asked. He could see the brown demonic essence flicking around her eyes.

"It was the best sleep I've had in a long time," he lied.

"So that's how you're going to play this. Not that you missed me or that you acted like a total jackass?" Evangeline said with one eyebrow raised.

Vergil sighed and unwound her arms to grab his lover's hand. The surprised look on her face was almost worth the belittling he was going to put himself through.

"I did not act appropriately. I am sorry. May I please come in," he said through gritted teeth. Evangeline threw back her head and laughed then pulled him inside.

"Oh, did you pop a blood vessel saying that?" she said between giggles. She wrapped her hands around his waist and buried her face into his shoulder. He would never admit it, but she wasn't too proud to say she missed him during the night. After she had gotten her fill of feeling his heartbeat against her cheek she stepped away.

"Is Persephone alright?" he asked, looking over Evangeline's shoulder to see if his daughter was inside.

"She is. Made it home late, but intact. She's at school," Evangeline replied. Vergil sighed, secretly relieved that he didn't have to face her just yet.

"Teenagers are complicated," he said. "But I know how to make this better."

Evangeline gave him a skeptical look. "You do realize emotional problems involve actually talking and reaching a mutually beneficial conclusion, right?"

Vergil smiled and leaned down, kissing her gently. He caught the faintest taste of nicotine on her lips. "Don't worry. I try not to make the same mistakes," he said and kissed her quickly one last time before heading up to the study.

################################

"Persephone, are you listening?"

Persephone blinked and remembered Jay was sitting in front of her. He wore a pair of bright purple sunglasses which he pulled down his nose to stare at her. She had spent the majority of lunch looking around the quad for any sign of Mark but had come up short. Her friends had continued their conversations without her, only snippets occasionally reaching her awareness.

"Honestly, I wasn't listening," Persephone sighed. She couldn't help but to dread that she had done something wrong. Maybe he was only being nice the night before and had realized after she left how bizarre the situation was. Honestly, she wouldn't blame him for thinking that way.

"You look like shit again," Jane said.

"I didn't get a lot of sleep," Persephone yawned then took a bite of her sloppily made peanut butter and jelly.

"But you're coming to practice tonight right? Totally heard someone made some choreography for Crazy in Love," Jay said excitedly.

"What's Crazy in Love?" Mary Ann asked.

"Even I know that song and I don't listen to the radio," Persephone said with a laugh.

"Well, polka is prominent in my house," Mary Ann replied.

"So are you coming?" Sarah asked. Persephone bit her lip. Though she felt determined the night before to set the demon aside, actually making the decision to go to practice instead of training with her father made her falter. It was the first step in whatever journey was embarking upon. She remembered her father's angry face and her wrist ached with the memory. _To hell with him_, she thought.

"I'll be there," she said just as the bell rang. Persephone spared one last glance through the quad before gathering her things and heading to her next class. She sat her chin on her hands and listened to her economics professor discuss supply side models.

It was funny to her, apparently demons were real but they somehow were never brought up in her classes: an entire history that somehow the world was ignorant of. It was a history that ran through her veins. Her grandfather had saved humanity from certain destruction, yet he was never spoken of in class. There was no holiday for him, save for a legend hardly told anymore. It made her sad to think that he was forgotten. Even she didn't know of him only a few weeks ago. Yet her father and uncle walked around with the truth and the memory of him heavy around their necks, but only demons would ever care.

Persephone was called upon to draw a model but was spared with the sound of the bell. She walked quickly down the hall, nodding to Caleb as he passed, and stopped short of her chemistry classroom. She didn't know if she should enter and wait, or make a slight entrance when he arrived. What would she even say?

_This is desperate, and a little creepy. Definitely not attractive,_ she thought. She shouldn't have called him, shouldn't have told him all those things. She sighed and entered the classroom. Their fertilizer had arrived and she joined another group to work on it. Half way through, she realized he wouldn't be coming and lost all focus, allowing her partners to finish the lab with her barely present.

_But he kissed me_, she thought. Class ended with the sound of the bell and she walked into the hallway and leaned against the wall. A hand slid into hers and she shot off the wall. Mark laughed and brought her fingers to his lips.

"Waiting for me?" he asked. She blushed wildly at his observation.

"No," she said, drawing out the vowel. "Ok, maybe."

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I had a late night," he said with a smile.

"I'm really sorry about that," she groaned.

"I told you already, I wanted to be there. How did things go at home?" he asked and started walking towards the classroom, still holding her hand.

"My dad wasn't home, so not yet resolved," she said. She caught the eye of a few students who were staring at two of them holding hands as they walked. Several whispers had already started circulating. Persephone felt embarrassed for a moment before shaking it off. They knew nothing and could do nothing. There was no use in worrying.

"So why weren't you in class?" she asked. Mark ran his free hand through his hair and smiled mischievously.

"Well, I may have not done the homework and didn't want to bother," he replied.

Persephone stopped and lightly poked him in the chest. "I don't believe you have done any work since you have been here. How did you even get into this school?"

"I have a good friend. Besides, once you get kicked out of every other school, someone has to take you," he replied.

Persephone shook her head. "I feel like there is a long story behind this. You missed learning about fertilizer by the way."

"Fertilizer contains around 8% phosphorous and can be used to make bombs," he rattled off the facts quickly with a cryptic smile.

"That was not what I was expecting you to say," she said slowly.

"Anarchist street school, remember?" he said with a laugh. "I actually have a friend whose hobby is chemistry."

"So you hardly attend class and never do your homework. What do you plan on doing with your life?" she asked. It was like speaking to an alien. The thought of cutting out on school never crossed her mind and most of her friends felt were the same way. His reasons were an irresistible mystery.

Mark only shrugged. "You know, we should go on an actual date so I can answer all these burning questions."

Persephone looked up and stopped at the door to her next class. "Alright, but I have to go to class and I have practice tonight. I'll text you. But can you do me one favor?"

"I have a feeling I won't like it," he said.

"Go to class. Just one at least," she requested. He wrinkled his nose and frowned, as if he had just ate something unpleasant. Then he quickly kissed the back of her hand and bowed awkwardly.

"As you wish. But don't expect that I will continue this trend," he said and dropped her hand, his fingers trailing lightly across her palm as he did. She smiled and waved before entering her classroom and taking her seat. From her bag, she pulled out her notes from yesterday's class that were pathetically lacking. As she browsed them quickly she heard a loud squeal and turned her head towards Mary Ann who was jumping from foot to foot excitedly.

"Oh my god. I you little liar. Everyone totally saw you holding hands," she squeaked and slid into the desk next to her.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Persephone said calmly, barely able to contain her grin. Mary Ann frowned and slapped her lightly on the shoulder.

"Don't play like that. I am going to get the full story before anyone else," she whispered quickly as their teacher entered the room. Persephone only smiled and hid her face behind her copy of Frankenstein.

####################################

Persephone glanced nervously at the clock as she took Jay's hand and spun quickly. It was quickly approaching five o'clock and a small part of her felt guilty, but she continually pushed it away to focus on learning their new number. Occasionally, she would feel a twinge in her heart calling her out and into the evening. The demon wanted to fight with her uncle and father, but she had found that it was becoming easier to keep it in check as she became more confident in her decisions. She wanted the human life and her determination was becoming stronger.

"Jane, that's a rock step. Come on guys, we haven't even gotten to singing yet," their show choir director said, tapping a wooden cane in time with the music. She was a middle aged, energetic woman with deep smile lines and black hair that was becoming a beautiful steel gray.

"That's because I rather do Beyoncé than Kansas," Jay muttered. Persephone laughed and hummed mockingly along with the music as she circled around him.

"Alright, alright. Persephone this is when you and Mary Ann come forward and do your pair dance. After that, is your solo for the opening after the 'ah'. You know the lyrics right?" the director asked.

"I do. My uncle was a big fan of it. I think I heard it thousand times," Persephone replied. In fact, on days Dante would pick her up from school, they would often go cruising in his red convertible, singing at the top of their lungs with accompanying air guitar solos. The thought made her smile as she took her spot up front.

"Everyone," the director said and lifted her hands. A resounding "ah" filled the room as the drums and piano started. Persephone breathed deeply.

"Once I rose…." Her note was quickly halted with a loud squeak as she spotted her father entering into the room. He was dressed for combat, complete with thick leather vest, black boots, and long blue coat. Once, Persephone was enamored with the color and how he never seemed to go anywhere without the coat. Now it sent dread through her heart. The music stopped, and Persephone could feel all eyes stop and stare.

"Mr. Sparda. Can I help you?" the choir director asked.

Her father blinked as if just noticing the older woman. "I am here to retrieve my daughter," he said flatly and gave Persephone a hard stare.

"She's missed several practices already and we need to get ready for competition," the director replied, glancing nervously around.

"I honestly do not care. Persephone, come on," he said devoid of emotion.

Persephone steeled her resolve. "I want to practice."

His face became deathly cold as he stared at her. The less emotion he showed, the angrier she knew he was and she braced herself for what would come next. Instead, he sighed heavily and softened his expression.

"Persephone, I need to talk to you. It's important that you come home," he said, the words sounding forced.

"Is everything alright?" their director asked, suddenly very concerned.

"Recently discovered health issue in the family," her father responded quickly, the lie rolling easily off his tongue.

Persephone's director turned towards her. "Why didn't you tell us that was why you were gone? Go home until things are better," the older woman said while making shooing motions with her hands. Persephone quickly gathered her items from floor and walked out the door, not sparing a glance towards her father.

Instead of stopping, she stormed down the empty hallways and towards the front door. She could hear the sound of her father's boots behind her and walked faster, bursting through the doors and into the quad. The sky had turned a hazy orange as it made its transition dusk.

"Persephone!" her father called. "Storming out is a little to stereotypical don't you think?"

She stopped and spun around to face him. "Well I am a teenage girl and angry. People storm when they are angry."

"Humans storm. You can fight," he replied, walking up to her.

"I told you, I'm done. I am living my life as a human and will continue storming," she said, voice low and firm.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, his anger seemingly deflating as he exhaled. For a brief moment, he wasn't the all empowering figure she had grown up with, but had become just a man instead.

"Persephone, I'm sorry for what I did yesterday. I'm not disappointed or angry with you. I'm scared. You made a coward of me the day you were born. I couldn't live if anything happened to you," he said softly.

"Dad…" Persephone managed to stutter, trying to find the right words. The guilt she had attempted to hide away burst to surface and her heart grew heavy. She looked at the ground, not wanting to see the shrunken man in front of her.

"Persephone," he said and she looked up again. "Come with me. I have something to show you. Then you can make a decision."

Persephone nodded slowly. Her father started walking towards the parking lot and she followed several feet behind. They climbed inside and he started the car, exited the parking lot, and started driving towards downtown. Persephone oscillated between staring at her hands clasped in her lap and glancing at her father. He kept his cold eyes on the road as he drove silently towards his goal.

"So… we're not going to say anything?" she asked, unsure.

Her father frowned. "I never understood the need to always speak to one another. There is a profound bonding in silence."

"There is also a profound awkwardness," Persephone replied, but sat back in her seat and shut her mouth.

They soon drove into the darkening city, the sidewalks still busy with pedestrians heading to dinner or other gatherings. Her father turned right, pulled the car into a wide alley and parked. He reached behind Persephone's seat then tossed a large, black coat into her lap along with a duffel that clanged as it landed. She opened the bag and saw her swords. They hummed slightly as she held them.

"Put that on and pull up the hood," he said. Persephone gave him a confused look before climbing out of the car and pulling the coat on. It enveloped her down to her knees, easily covering her school uniform. As she pulled the hood over her head, she felt like a criminal hiding her face. Her father exited the car and started down the alley and she trailed after him. At the end of the alley, he turned left and started down the street. As she walked behind him, Persephone saw the outline of his sword under his coat and she worried about what he had planned.

They navigated the crowds like two dark shadows, her father never sparing a glance towards the pedestrians. She followed behind, wondering where he was taking her. Finally he stopped and stared towards a small coffee shop across the street. A young woman, her hair pulled back in a ponytail was cleaning off tables and closing the umbrellas for the night. He watched her for several moments, his face blank save for the faintest etch of relief.

"See that girl?" he finally asked.

"Yeah," Persephone answered.

"She was about your age when she was attacked by demons. Her father was an influential king pin and his rival wanted revenge, so they sent demons after his family. We were asked to protect her," he said and smiled slightly. "She said she never went out in the dark. That bad things happened in the dark. She was right, but we killed the demons sent after her."

As if hearing him speak of her, the young woman looked up and turned around. She spotted them across the street and smiled, giving her father a small wave. The young woman's face glowed with sheer happiness and gratitude. Persephone couldn't recall if she had ever seen another person stare with such adoration towards another human being. Her father nodded to her and she returned to her work.

"She's not afraid of the dark anymore," her father said. "Humans can only do so much to protect themselves. Despite their strength of will, a demon's weapon will always be stronger. So we will be human's weapon, to even the playing field."

"You save them," Persephone murmured, watching the young woman enter the coffee shop. He turned towards her.

"It took me a long time to learn what I needed to. I wanted to be like my father but I was nothing like him. Not until your mother then everything changed. I wanted to protect her and to be with her as a man. I was never stronger than when I was protecting someone. My father knew that and fought back the armies of hell," he said, his voice trailing off.

"Humanity made you stronger," Persephone said, looking down. She felt his hand on her shoulder.

"I have one more thing," he told her and started down the street. After moment, she followed thinking of the woman at the coffee shop. The night had settled completely and when they turned down another alley, she could barely see in front of her. Her father turned towards a rusted fire escape and deftly leapt the five feet up to it. He lowered the ladder and started his ascent to the roof. Persephone quickly clambered up after him, trying to keep pace. She watched in awe and he easily jumped from platform to platform, ignoring the ladders and soon he disappeared onto the roof of the building. After the final platform, she dragged herself onto the roof and spotted him standing on the other side.

"Keep up," he called and jumped from one building to the next. Persephone slung the duffel snugly over her shoulder and started running, dreading the edge quickly approaching. With a grunt, she jumped and cleared the seven foot gap with ease. She grinned and started running again, spotting her father just ahead. When she got close he also started running, leaping easily from building to building, quickly traversing over obstacles. She felt giddy as she tried to catch him, enjoying the surge of power when she needed it. It was like flying. Nothing stood in her way. Even the demon delighted in the run, pushing her faster and faster.

Persephone kicked off a duct, somersaulted over a gap and landed easily on her feet. With a laugh she flipped forward three times, reveling in the ease of it. Every muscle moved in perfect harmony, the way she had always dreamed of when practicing. She was a force of nature, invincible.

With a final back handspring, she landed directly in front of her father. He crossed his arms, a small smirk playing on his lips.

"Having fun?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe a little," Persephone replied with a shrug.

"I thought you didn't want to be a devil," he said slyly.

Persephone walked past him and peered across the building tops flickering to life with lights. "There are some perks," she said quietly. "So what did you want to show me?"

"I wanted to show you a demon," he answered calmly. Persephone spun around to face him.

"Is it here?"

"It's close," he said and walked across the roof top. She stayed close beside him as he looked down seven stories to the alley below. Persephone followed his gaze and realized they were standing on the rooftop of a warehouse surrounded by others that were empty of their workers for the night. Below them was a maze of alleyways shrouded in the dark.

"I don't see anything," she whispered. Her heart was beating wildly, sending the blood rushing loudly past her ears. Her father didn't reply but trained his eyes on a far alley. Before she could see the demon, Persephone felt it. It was a crawling sensation up her spine that sent her power jumping to the surface. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could make out a hunched over form slowly winding its way down the alley. It was roughly the size of a large man, but the outline twisted; its shoulder weighed down by some large mass. A noise in a nearby building caused the demon to raise its head, and Persephone felt her body jerk in response. Its eyes were flat and black, its nose only a gash above a row of large fangs that its mouth could not contain. It was mockery of nature, mixing the human face with that of a beast to form a horrifying monstrosity.

"It's hunting," her father murmured. The noise from the building grew louder and a man in overalls and a woman in office clothes stepped out from the building below them, chatting tiredly. They locked the door, and Persephone felt herself tense as the demon started moving faster towards the oblivious pair. Her father remained still, watching as it let out a low snarl and swiped at the man. The woman screamed and ran as the man fell to the ground.

"Dad," she whispered sharply. Her father glanced at her once before jumping from the top of the building, drawing Yamato as he fell. The demon blinked its large eyes as her father landed between it and man with his hand on the hilt of his sword. Persephone gripped the ledge of the building as she watched the showdown. The demon growled and lunged and her father rammed an elbow into its chest, sending it stumbling backward.

A scream erupted from another alley. Persephone glanced at her father, still dispatching other the demon as another scream echoed over the rooftop. In a heartbeat, she started running across the roof and towards the direction of the scream. As she jumped from one building to another, she heard the cry again coming from the alley just in front of her. She darted towards the edge and looked down to see the woman crawling across the ground on one elbow as the other arm clutched her belly. A hunched demon slowly made its way towards her, its long, clawed arms dragging on the ground. Persephone looked frantically for a way down only to find she was stranded on the roof.

"Dammit," she hissed and climbed onto the ledge. Taking a deep breath, she stepped off the roof and plummeted towards the ground seven stories below. She landed easily in a crouch behind the demon, steadying herself with hand on the ground. The creature didn't even look up from its pursuit of its victim.

"Hey!" she shouted. The demon stopped and slowly turned. Persephone swung the duffel from her shoulder and withdrew her swords. Her heart stopped when she saw the demon's cold, dead eyes land on her. Its face was skeletal with pale skin stretched over bones, its body thin and hunched forward with the weight of its large claws. As it saw her, it curled its thin lips back to expose wolf-like fangs. Her insides became watery and she shuddered under its gaze.

The woman sobbed and Persephone felt the swords hum in her hands. She steeled herself against the demon, feeling the bloodlust fill every single vein. Her eyes locked with the demon's and she slowly raised both swords.

With a roar, the demon charged forward, faster than she had expected with its hunched body. She sidestepped out of the way and spun around it, forgetting to attack. It stopped its charge and whirled around, rising to its full height with a sickening snap of its spine. It flexed its claws and roared, sending spittle into the air. The demon ran towards her swinging one massive hand with claws outstretched. Persephone ducked under its arm and turned, bringing the silver sword down on its shoulder. It growled and brought its elbow back, ramming Persephone between the ribs. She stumbled back and crossed her arms in front of her as the demon swung again. The impact to her forearms sent her to her knees, and she rolled out of the way of the demon's stomping foot. She jumped to her feet and held the swords tightly on either side of her.

"Come get me you ugly bastard," she growled.

The demon charged, and Persephone planted one foot behind her, bracing for impact. She brought the blades forward in front of her and watched the demon's eyes grow wide as it realized it couldn't stop. Its momentum drove its chest directly into the blades, and Persephone locked her elbows as it struck with a shuddering blow. With a growl, she pressed the blades deeper into its heart and twisted, sending out a spurt of thick red blood over her hands. The demon let out a single, staggered breath and slumped forward. Persephone yanked the swords from its flesh and let it fall to her feet. She looked down at its ugly corpse, her entire body trembling. With a shout she rammed the tip of the blades into its skull, cracking it in half and watched the blood leak out with smile. Persephone closed her eyes, letting the power and bloodlust flow freely through her.

Another sob shocked Persephone from her reverie, and she turned her head towards the woman who was struggling to sit up.

"Don't move," she said, quickly placing the swords through her belt loops and walking over to her. She knelt next to the woman whose eyes were wide with fear.

"What was that?" the woman cried, gripping Persephone's arm.

"Don't worry about it," Persephone said and slowly helped her to her feet. "Do you have a phone?"

The woman nodded and they made their way towards the street. Persephone stuck her head out from the alley and looked up and down the street. When she was sure it was empty, she stepped out and gently leaned the woman on a building. She lifted the woman's arm from her stomach and sighed with relief when she realized it was just a flesh wound.

"You're going to be ok. Call 911," Persephone said and turned away. The woman grabbed her arm and she stopped.

"Thank you," the woman whispered.

Persephone didn't look back as she gently removed her arm and returned to the alley. When she came to where the slain demon had fallen, her father was waiting, watching the corpse dissolve into dust. He turned his gaze to her as she approached, his eyes bright with pride.

"You did well," he said.

"I saved her," Persephone said with a smile. "She's alive."

"How was it? Your first kill," he asked.

Persephone shook her head, unsure of what she had felt. Her first thought was to save the woman, but after seeing the demon, all she wanted to kill the creature. She enjoyed watching it fall defeated at her feet.

"Frightening," she said. "But then it was…exhilarating. I don't know if I can describe it," she answered quietly.

"You're a hunter now," her father said, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked down at the pile of dust at her feet, letting the words sink in.

"I don't….I don't know," Persephone said. The demon was a thing of nightmares that she never wanted to see again, yet a part of her wanted to hunt down another to ensure that they always just remained as nightmares.

"Persephone," her father said and gently tilted her face towards him with one hand. "Ever since were a child, you have always wanted to make a difference in the world, to do something important. This is your opportunity to do something that matters not just for the people you will save, but for humanity. Now that you have your chance, why are you so afraid of it?"

Persephone stared deeply into his eyes, the question striking a chord in her heart.

"I'm scared of what I will become. I don't know that person is," she confessed. Her father just shook his head.

"Don't fight it. Use it to become more of the person you are and who you want to be," he said. Persephone nodded feeling the pieces slowly fall into place. She had been so wrong in her desire to cling to what her life was when something so much greater lay before her. When she slayed demon, it was as natural as breathing; she could feel the rightness of it in her bones. Within her lay the legacy of the greatest warrior of humanity and she was far too close to throwing it all away because she couldn't let go. Her grandfather had given up everything to save the world; her sacrifice would be nothing in comparison.

"Teach me everything you know. I want to make him proud," Persephone said as the sound of sirens reached them. Her father smiled and together they climbed to the rooftops, the last remnants of Sparda against the horrors in the night.

* * *

><p><em><strong>If you can believe it, some of this was actually inspired by conversations with my own father. I had a fun time trying to describe the first kiss; it has been a while :). In any case, please RR. Peace!<strong>_


	11. Chapter 11: The Most Dangerous Game

_**Sorry this took a while. Lot's of training (I might be able to free spar yay!) and job interviews. It was actually going to be longer, but I think I will wait for the next chapter to introduce certain events and I changed the rating just to be safe. But thanks for your patience and your reviews, and please continue to send me your thoughts. **_

* * *

><p>Evangeline groaned and placed her book on the bed next to her, unable to concentrate. Vergil being out all night was not unusual, but not having her daughter tucked into her bed left her with such a feeling of foreboding that it was difficult not to conjure a million different horrible scenarios. But more than any demon, she was worried about Vergil's "plan" to repair things with Persephone. No amount of love for Vergil would ever change the simple fact that he had the emotional aptitude of a snake trying to make friends with a rabbit, and Evangeline prayed he wouldn't make things worse.<p>

There was a gentle knock on her door and Gabriel stuck his head into the room.

"Can we come in?" he asked.

"Sure, sweetie," she said and sat up. Out of instinct, she checked to make sure her back was covered then slowly lowered her hand. She didn't need to keep secrets from then anymore. Gabriel entered quickly followed by Caleb who leapt onto the bed and to her side. He held the leather book in his hand.

"We've got some questions," he said.

"How did you get that?" Evangeline said and took the book from him.

"We went into Persephone's room, but she doesn't have anything interesting since she stopped keeping a diary," Gabriel said.

"Gabriel I'm surprised. You're supposed to keep your brother in line," she said with a frown.

"It's too hard to pass up even for him. She doesn't hide anything," Caleb said. "Now, tell us about this tower dad tried to raise."

"He didn't try, he actually succeeded and then he was trapped in hell. The lesson here: don't try to destroy the world. You can talk to him about that," Evangeline said.

"Did uncle Dante try to get him out?" Caleb asked.

Evangeline shook her head. "I don't think your uncle knew how to and your father chose to be there. I can't say that he always made the best decisions."

"It explains a lot," Caleb muttered and turned towards his brother. "If you get trapped in hell I'm coming with you."

"Shouldn't you try to get me out first?" Gabriel said. The twins stared at each other for a moment before smiling after some silent exchange. Evangeline smiled remembering how she did the same thing with her own brother. She often wondered what he would have thought of her now, whether he has forgiven her yet.

"Alright boys, time for bed. Give me a kiss," she said. Caleb sighed but leaned over and kissed her cheek before climbing out the bed. Gabriel hugged her quickly and she handed the book to him.

"Put that back in your sister's room," she said. He nodded and the two left the room.

Evangeline sighed and leaned back acutely aware of the time. She closed her eyes, trying to relax and began to feel herself drift off into sleep. In her dream, she was back on the street but the hole and the man was nowhere to be seen. Everything was gray and dark, shifting like waves of heat on hot pavement. The sound of a slamming door entered her dream and her eyes snapped open. Feet stomped up the stairs and she sat up. Brief words were uttered and the bathroom door closed then Vergil walked into the bedroom. He glanced at her briefly before setting Yamato against the dresser and removing his coat and boots. His face gave nothing away causing Evangeline to feel the urgent need to check on her daughter.

"Vergil. Don't do that. Is she ok?" she snapped. He looked up and grinned as he removed his vest and shirt.

"She killed her first demon," he said, his face glowing with pride. Evangeline stood up quickly.

"Is she ok? Did they attack?" she said and started towards the door. Vergil stuck his arm out and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"She's fine," he said and brought her close. "She hunted it herself, I merely showed it to her."

Evangeline put a hand on his bare chest and looked at him skeptically. "You got her to change her mind?"

"I told you I had a plan," he said. "I showed her what was important, something she would care about."

"What did you show her?" she asked.

"Her potential to be great," he said and gently brushed a single curl behind her ear. She smiled and stood on her tip toes to plant a kiss on his cheek.

"You are the best. And to think I doubted you," she said. He pressed his forehead against hers and she breathed in his scent of sweat and sweet musk. He always felt so solid and strong; her anchor in the chaos of the world. Evangeline leaned into him, relishing the feeling of heat and anticipation growing between them. Vergil placed his hand behind her neck and gently brought her in for a kiss. Evangeline wrapped her arms around his neck and he lifted her effortlessly into his arms. She giggled quietly as he carried her to the bed and laid her down. He ran his hand down her side and a small sigh escaped her lips. She watched his eyes rove up and down her body, shivering under the caress of his gaze.

"You are the most beautiful woman ever created," he breathed.

"You just say that," she laughed lightly. He only shook his head and slid his hand up her thigh, pushing her night gown around her waist.

"I don't lie," he said, gently rubbing his thumb along the inside of her thigh. Evangeline spread her legs wanting to feel more of his touch. His body was hot against hers, each kiss on her neck staggering her breath. She ran her nails down his chest to watch him shudder and bring her closer, pressing his hips into hers. She undid the buttons of his pants and withdrew his member, running her thumb over the tip. He groaned with the small touch and she gently bit his bottom lip with a smile.

Evangeline kissed him deeply as he entered her and pressed her hips closer trying to feel every part of him. They remained still, relishing the feeling of closeness as the desire grew.

"I love you," she whispered breathlessly and the passion overtook them, each movement feeding into the other as they moved together, each thrust bringing them closer and closer. Evangeline threw her head back with a final moan as the climax delightfully released her from its grasp and Vergil let out his own staggered breath before falling to the bed next to her. Evangeline laughed and rolled over, laying her head on his heaving chest.

"I love you," he said softly and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"That's just the sex talking," she responded, smiling as her body relaxed into his. He tilted her chin up and caught her eyes with his.

"I love you," he said. "I should have told you this sooner…things are going to be ok."

Evangeline nodded and kissed him. The world was steady and still as they lay together, each listening to the other breathing. She didn't know if it were true, but for a moment she could believe it if only for heartbeat.

#########################

"You've been so distant from me lately," Rose said as she ran a hand through Mark's dark hair. He grabbed her hand and pulled it away. She had him pinned in the back of the warehouse behind a pile of crates.

"I have been living a double life," he replied and watched her eyes narrow at his answer. "That doesn't mean anything; I'm just exhausted."

Her bright red lips fell into a frown. For as long as he had known her, she had always wore the same red lipstick. It always set her apart from the other women he had met like a magnet drawing his eyes to her. But recently, the unnatural hue had become off putting and he wondered what her actual face looked like. Would she suddenly transform into a new person if all the makeup were removed? Seeing all his companions was becoming strangely isolating. It was like he was staring at children playing dress up, each trying to figure out what it is that a devil hunter was meant to look like, who it was that Cyrus wanted them to be. Each evening he would stare at his own clothing wondering what the hell he was doing.

She grabbed his head between her hands. "Then let me make you feel better."

"Rose, we don't exactly live in the most private of places," he said and glanced towards the office. He knew no one could see them but couldn't shake the idea of prying eyes.

"No one is around. Cyrus took them hunting," she kissed him, her lips slightly tacky from her lipstick. Mark let her lips rove on his own, occasionally kissing back but he felt flat. She pressed her body against his and his hands went to her waist, going through the motions of love making. But he found he couldn't focus on her pretty face or her hands running down his sides. Instead, he thought of Persephone's white hair plastered against the sides of her face as she kissed him. His heart started racing with the memory of his hand on her waist and her body so close. He imagined he was with her again as Rose kissed him, and he let his hands roam across her body too enamored with his fantasy of the other woman to feel guilty.

############################

Persephone knew she should have been sleeping but couldn't settle down. She thrashed around in the bed as her memory flashed back to the demon and its cold, dead eyes locking onto hers. In the bathroom, she felt a sick joy at seeing its blood on her hands. The feeling unsettled her so much that she scrubbed her hands until they were raw and red. Each thought of the demon was punctuated with elation at the hunt then the image of the woman thanking her.

The two sides battled back and forth and she wondered whether her father and uncle had gone through the same thing. Perhaps it was the curse of every warrior; the primal need of the hunt clashing against the desire to protect. She hunted that demon just as it hunted the human and the realization made her question how different they actually were. In some strange way that demon was family. At the very least, they shared a common origin in whatever created heaven and hell.

Persephone rolled from her bed and walked over to her desk. Sitting on top was the leather book her mother had started writing for her. She turned to the first page and a picture of her grandfather. She smiled at the elegantly dressed man before turning to the next page.

_Two millenniums ago, there was a war. Between the human world and the other... the __Underworld__. But somebody from the Underworld woke up to justice, and stood up against this legion, alone. His name was Sparda. Later, he quietly reigned the human world, and continued to preserve harmony, until his death. He became a legend, The Legendary Dark Knight, Sparda._

Persephone read the story slowly, Sparda's betrayal of his brethren and master in order to save humanity. How he had sealed away his power and sword to bind the demon king and cut off the underworld, and his quiet rule over the humans until his eventual disappearance. Persephone tried to fathom what the army of hell must have looked like and how a single man could stand against it.

_ This is the story you will hear again and again about your grandfather, but this is just the beginning of his story. Two millennium later, a woman named Eva won his heart and that is where his story came to an end and yours began. Eva and Sparda had two twin boys, Dante and Vergil, the sons of Sparda. Sparda disappeared while Dante and Vergil were still young, leaving Eva to raise the boys on her own until her death at the hands of demons when the boys were nine years old. No one knows what happened to Sparda, but his legend persists as the undefeated warrior. It is said that his power did not come from his demonic nature, but from his ability to love and to feel humanity which is why no demon could stand against him. It was from his love of a human that his legacy continues in Dante and Vergil and now in you. _

The chapter ended and Persephone closed the book. _Persephone, are you evil_? Mark had asked her. She told him no and in the face of her first demon, it had remained true. One simple truth separated her from the demons; she cared. She cared about her family, about Mark, about the random strangers on the street. It was a fine line between beast and man, but a line Sparda and her father had walked and one she hoped she was strong enough to follow.

Persephone turned off her light and lay down on her bed, the image of her grandfather floating behind her eyes. Her body was exhausted and sleep quickly overtook her. She stood in the middle of a large room of marble floors and marble pillars. In front of her was a grand staircase leading to the floor above and a large mosaic of tile depicting a battle. A man dressed in purple stood at the base, staring up to the to battle scene. She didn't have to see his face, she knew the white hair and the dignified way he stood.

"Hello," she said quietly. The man turned around, revealing a face that was both familiar and strange. The similarity between him and her father was pronounced, but Sparda's face was harder, his eyes severe with the weight of time and countless battles.

"Find me," he said, his deep voice rumbling across the walls and pillars.

"Is this real?" she asked. The staircase cracked and a gaping black hole opened beneath Sparda's feet, sending him tumbling backward into oblivion. Persephone ran towards the hole as the marble floor exploded beneath her and she was floating through darkness. Three glowing orbs appeared in the distance and she felt herself being pulled towards it. A single pale hand grabbed her arm to gently guide her, and she was standing in a field with the blonde woman.

"Does any of this mean anything?" she asked. The woman just smiled sadly and brushed a finger down the side of Persephone's face.

"I wish we had the time," the blonde woman said and darkness again rolled over the field. Persephone jerked herself out of her slumber, breathing heavily. Slowly, she lowered herself back into her bed and threw her arm over her eyes. She was tired of these dreams, tired of trying to figure out what anxiety ridden message her brain had for her. _Just a dream, just a dream,_ she repeated to herself as she fell into a thankfully black sleep.

##############################

Dante leaned back in his chair, tapping his foot to the sound of the heavy bass from his stereo. It wasn't unusual for him to be up this late, just unusual that he was up this late and not on a job. The quiet was nice for once, gave him time to think. His thoughts were continually on Persephone and the boys. He grinned thinking about them. They were good kids, and he couldn't help but be impressed with Evangeline and Vergil's parenting skills. By some miracle, they had formed their dysfunctional relationship into a cohesive child-rearing team albeit with a hefty dose of crazy. Vergil had gone from his arch enemy to his best friend, raising humans instead of trying to destroy them and Evangeline had somehow set aside her partying ways to become a chaos taming master. It was funny how things changed.

The thought made him frown. He wondered how much he had actually changed. He was older, wiser, but his life was exactly the same. He almost wondered if the charm Trish had made to bestow on Lady a demon's agelessness was only holding them still in time. How much longer would she want to stick around?

_I wonder if I should have a kid? They seem to shake things up,_ he thought. He looked around his shop and spotted a bullet hole that banished the thought.

"Why are you still up?" Lady called from the stairs, clutching her white robe shut.

"Just thinking," he said and grabbed the remote to turn off the stereo. "Was I keeping you awake?"

"No. My back hurts and I have a headache. Probably caught a cold," she said. Dante smiled up at Lady who stared sleepily back. Her dark brown hair was mussed and despite her growing it out, continued to flip up at the ends in spite of her best efforts. But her eyes were always the same: judgmental, snarky and full of the deepest care for him. She would be on his case for eternity, and he would love every second of it.

"What do you think about kids?" he asked. Lady just glowered.

"I don't think about kids. Why don't you think about some of our cases? That blonde woman is still waiting for her grandpa," she said.

Dante waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. What was her name, Mary, Marie something or other. Anyway, Vergil's got that case so my desk is empty."

"You don't think you should remind him. He has a lot to deal with," she replied with a hand on her hip.

"That's why I'm not saying anything. I'll let him sort out his family issues first. God only know he needs all his brain power for it. He doesn't do well with feelings and women… and women's feelings. He should have really gotten therapy when we were younger," Dante said with a laugh and stood up, the leg of the chair squeaking against the floor. He climbed up the stairs and wrapped a hand around Lady, gently rubbing her back.

"Let's go to bed. I'll give you a back rub," he said with a sly grin and a waggle of his eyebrows. Lady rolled her eyes and walked into the back room and Dante followed with a chuckle.

################################

Persephone spent her first classes thinking of her mother and father instead of focusing on history and math. Her father had spent the entire morning holding her mother tightly, gently whispering in her ear as she made breakfast and causing her to burst into small giggles on occasion. The strange display of affection was bizarre but sweet; they were like newlyweds on their honeymoon. She could only remember a few times she had seen them acting affectionate and each time was behind closed doors when they thought no one was looking. But they never needed the outward display of affection, Persephone knew with every look just how deeply her parents cared for each other. It was the kind of love that only came from knowing the other person inside and out.

"I want that," Persephone murmured, raising the eyebrow of her classmate. The bell rung and she gathered her things and headed to the hallway. She stopped into the library for her study period and sat at one of the empty tables to finish her homework before her dad dragged her off late into the night. Her phone buzzed in her backpack and she glanced down to see a text message from Mark. _I'm not feeling well today. But are we on for a date tomorrow night?_ Persephone smiled then with one dawning realization, frowned. How could she get this past her parents? She quickly gathered her things and rushed outside to the students gathering for lunch. Jane was already at their usual table, tapping her foot impatiently. Persephone sat down with her sack lunch and smiled sweetly.

"I can't believe you," Jane exclaimed.

"Just wait one second, I need your help," Persephone said.

"You were keeping Mark a secret from me and now you need help? And what was with your dad yesterday? Is everything ok?" Jane rattled off the questions, wagging her finger at Persephone.

"I'll start with the last question. Everything is fine; my dad was lying because he wanted me to go home. And I wasn't keeping Mark a secret, I just haven't told you yet," Persephone answered with a sardonic smile. "Now I need your help."

"First tell me what happened?

Persephone sighed and rolled her eyes. "We kissed. That's it. Now can I ask for your help?"

Jane leaned back and flipped her brown hair. "Ok, but you owe me more."

"I want to go out with Mark tomorrow night, but I don't want my dad to find out. I need you to lie for me and say I am staying at your place," Persephone said slowly, unconsciously looking around for her parents as if they would suddenly pop up next to her.

"Oh my, god. Are you serious? I have been waiting forever for this moment. You're all grown up and lying to your parents," Jane said, mockingly choking up.

"Very funny. Will you do it?" Persephone pleaded, clasping her hands together.

"Of course. That's what friends are for, but I want details," Jane said.

"Deal," Persephone said and pulled out her phone. _Yes. I'll send you details, _she texted quickly and sent the message to Mark.

"So it's just you and me for lunch. Everyone else is trying to finish up their media project," Jane said. Persephone pulled out her sandwich from her lunch box and quickly took a bite of the peanut butter and jelly. Her mother wasn't particularly creative when it came to lunches.

"Sorry. I have to eat and run so I can get my homework finished before tonight," Persephone said.

"What's happening tonight? You always have enough time before gymnastics," Jane said.

"I'm with my parents tonight," she replied.

"Again? What did you do?" Jane asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it," Persephone said, taking another bite. She smiled to herself, giddy at the prospect of her deceit. After all, that's what devils do to get what they want.

##############################

The town was quiet. No bursts of laughter or voices, no excess noise that was the mark of humanity. The townsfolk shuffled from task to task, eyes to the ground and bodies slumped with a lack of life. Mara paid no mind to them as she walked down the main avenue, dodging debris strewn across the asphalt. At the end of the avenue, a massive white church twisted it spires into the sky, looming over the town like a haunting spirit. Mara always imagined the spires as blades stabbing the heavens out of vengeance for some ill event. She stopped briefly to admire the archway adorned with demonic skulls before entering the building.

Chunks of marble were strewn around gaping holes and a fine layer of dust hung in the air, visible only in the light streaming in from the stained glass windows lining the walls. On the far wall, a group of workers were chipping away at the floor, their blank faces streaked with sweat and dirt. Mara carefully traversed her way between the holes, glowering at each one that had continued to keep their secrets hidden. She was tired of coming up with only fist full of dirt and rubble instead of the weapon that was so rightfully hers.

She walked towards the broad white stairs that led to the upper level where a large mosaic of ceramic was prominently displayed on the wall, overlooking what would have been the area of worship. In the middle of the stairs, a blue mist formed the shape of man as she approached.

"Mistress," it whispered.

"Your third eye told me that nothing was found," she said, eyeing the workers futile digging.

"Yes, Mistress. It appears it was a false tomb," it said, shifting anxiously.

"What are we missing? They built this for him; he has to be here," she said, surveying the room which would not yield its clues.

"Perhaps there is a text we overlooked?"

"No. The priest was our best source of information," she said and walked past her demonic companion. The mosaic stared down at her and she scowled at the depicted battle. To the left was a door leading deep into the church and to where she had set up her base of information. Permanently on her desk was a small black book opened to one page hastily scribbled. She sat down and read the lines again though she knew them by heart.

_May he rest forever. The church to guard his sleep so that he may climb to battle in heaven. _It was her obsession, her never-ending mystery. He died in this church. His final resting place was so close, yet so far. But perhaps she had gotten in wrong. She glanced at the photo of her grandfather at his dig site and saw red. He was so sure he was here. Surrounding her were stacks of books by historians searching for the final resting place all with their own theories on where he would be. Her grandfather had tracked them here and she had torn apart the entire building only to come up empty handed.

Mara growled and swept her arm through the items of her desk, sending them scattering across the floor. She leaned against her desk and breathed in slowly to still her racing heart. The air around her was stifling, the room too small for her anger. With a growl ,she spun around and passed through her demon servant, feeling only the slightest of cold from his wispy form. She stormed past the mosaic and made it half way down the steps before she crumpled into a heap. Burying her head in her hands, she let out a single shuddered sigh the words playing through her head.

She could feel the mosaic staring down at her and she shot a glance towards the battle scene depicting Sparda leading a battalion of humans against the demons. Above the battle the dark clouds opened revealing the shining gold city of heaven.

"Mistress, are you alright? Shall I have the workers clear the stairs so they are easier to climb?" her demon helper whispered, appearing next to her.

"No, I can climb the stairs just fine…" she said her voice trailing off. She turned towards the mosaic again then to the stairs she was sitting upon. It was like a lightning bolt had struck her and she knew what she had missed. Mara began to laugh wildly with how stupid she had been.

"Mistress?" the blue demon whispered, its form solidifying slightly to form a concerned expression.

"I know where it is," she gasped and stood up. "Oh, grandfather, always so literal."

Mara ran her hands over the marble stairs and pressed her cheek to the cool surface. _I've found you._

"Tell the workers to dig up the stairs," she said with a smile.

"We don't have that kind of equipment," the blue demon whispered.

"Then get it. We have tomb to defile."

###########################

Persephone stared at her economics text book as she waited for her mother at the edge of the parking lot. A large gust of wind blew past her and slammed the book shut. She yelped and looked around, spotting her brothers laughing a few yards away. They walked up to her grinning mischievously.

"That's not funny. It's also a little creepy that you learned how to do that," she said with a pointed glare at both boys.

"Why are you mad at me? I didn't do anything," Caleb said.

"Because you put him up to it," she replied and tucked her book into her backpack.

"Check this out," Gabriel said and handed her the leather book.

"Did you go in my room?" she demanded.

"Yeah, when you were in the shower this morning. Anyway, turn to the section after Sparda," he said. Persephone opened the book and flipped through the pages to a picture of Aunt Trish dressed in red. However, in the page next to the picture was written _Eva._ Her eyes widened with recognition of the woman. It wasn't Aunt Trish who had been rescuing her in her dreams.

"Holy crap," Persephone said and flipped through the pages for any explanation. All three of their heads shot up when they heard a loud honk and they watched their mother pull up next to them.

"Get in losers, we're going shopping," she shouted from the driver's seat then laughed.

"Never should have let her watch that movie," Gabriel said with a sigh as they started towards the car. The boys piled into the back and Persephone reached for the front door only to hear the click on the lock.

"Not you, sweetie. Your father is picking you up. Have fun," her mother called and pulled away, leaving Persephone bewildered in the parking lot.

"Seriously?" she sighed then nearly jumped out of her skin when a horn blared loudly directly behind her. Turning around, she spotted her uncle with her father sitting in his red convertible.

"Come on!" Dante shouted and honked again. She sheepishly climbed into the back over the side, careful to keep her skirt down. Before she could buckle her seatbelt, her uncle tore out of the parking lot and to an unknown destination. Persephone's white hair whipped around her face and stuck inside her mouth until she finally dug out a hair tie and pulled it back.

"I have a question," she said loudly over the roar of the engine and wind.

"What is it?" her father responded, turning slightly in his seat.

"Why does Aunt Trish look like grandma?" she asked.

Her uncle just laughed. "That is an interesting story. Trish is a demon and she was created to look like our mother to lure me out. Lucky for me, she got a hold of her senses and didn't continue to try to kill me."

"I've seen her," Persephone shouted.

"Seen who? Trish?" her uncle asked.

"No, Eva. I saw her in my dreams," she said and her uncle pulled onto the shoulder and stopped suddenly. Both men turned towards her with identical expressions of shock.

"What do you mean in your dreams?" her father demanded sharply.

"I have bad dreams and she rescues me. Just twice now," she answered carefully. Her father and uncle exchanged glances.

"Is she supposed to have visions?" her uncle asked and her father shrugged.

"I'm not sure. We've never had visions but her mind is weaker so maybe it can be entered."

"You do know I'm sitting right here?" she said, annoyed at being called weaker.

"What does she say?" her father asked.

"Just to not be scared," Persephone answered, struggling to remember.

"You were probably just dreaming. I'm sure you saw an image of grandmother at some point. If there was something important to be said, she wouldn't give it to you," her father said curtly and turned around. Dante turned back onto the highway and they entered into an awkward silence.

"How about some music?" her uncle said suddenly and pressed the button on the radio. She could see her father's jaw tense as the rock music started playing through speakers.

"Dante turn it off," he said shortly.

"Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cake hole," Dante said with a laugh. A familiar refrain started and he turned up the music. "Carry on my wayward son, there'll be peace when you are done," Dante started singing, slightly off tune but with exuberance until her father shot him a look.

"Once I rose above the noise and confusion, just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion," Persephone sang quietly and her uncle grinned.

"Stop it both of you. Dante this is the turn," her father said sternly and Dante pulled the car down a small dirt road that led into the forest. Persephone looked around, unsure of where they were. The dirt road opened into a clearing and Dante turned off the engine, causing the music to suddenly fall silent. They piled out of the car and Persephone started swatting away the small gnats that began to invade her space. Her father removed his blue coat, walked around the to the back of the car and popped the trunk. He dropped the coat inside and pulled out a black duffel.

"Catch," he said, and passed it to her. She cradled the duffel and felt the familiar edges of her swords.

"I guess I'll just get changed then," she said and looked around for a large enough tree to hide behind.

"Nope, not enough time," her uncle said and reached under the dash of the convertible.

"Time for what? Aren't we training?" she asked and felt the pit forming in her stomach; the telltale sign that they were up to something. Her father was always scheming and she had grown used to it, but the two hunters together just elevated the level of stress in every situation.

"We are hunting," her father said. Persephone looked around.

"There's a demon out here?" she whispered. That's when she heard it; the rough click of a shotgun. Slowly, she turned around and saw her uncle training the barrel of the gun on her.

"There's at least one," her uncle said with a grin.

"We're going to teach you how to hunt through… interactive methods," her father said.

"What do you mean?"

"He means run little bean," her uncle shouted and fired the shotgun over her head. With a yelp Persephone was running, quickly diving into the woods and out of sight.

"Did you really need to use the shotgun?" Vergil asked.

Dante shrugged. "It's dramatic. She's running isn't she?"

"We'll give her a few minutes to get away. This is going to be too easy," Vergil said, still hearing his daughter crash through the woods.

"But it'll be fun. She's a fast learner, maybe it will actually be challenge," Dante replied.

Vergil sighed, already calculating what her next move would be.

#######################

Despite the cool weather, Persephone's hair was plastered to her forehead with sweat as she climbed over another tree trunk. The forest was dense with trees and thick bushes and the ground was rocky making every step a struggle. She had been running for fifteen minutes before she realized she needed to stop and think. She crouched in the crutch of a large tree and listened closely but heard no sounds.

_They're going to be on top of me soon, _she thought, realizing that she had run in basically a straight line from the clearing. Everything was a blur in her mind and she couldn't concentrate out of fear that they would suddenly find her. She had read the "The Most Dangerous Game," why couldn't she think of something? Her foot slipped on a rock and she landed hard on her tail bone.

"This isn't going to work," she whispered and took off her uniform jacket already streaked with mud. She carefully tucked it into her bag and pulled out her swords, attaching them to her hip by tying the yellow sash around her waist.

"Persephone! We know you're behind that tree. You get one more chance before things get rough. Try to make it interesting," her father called from behind her. She peered around the tree and saw them standing about thirty yards away. They turned their backs to her and she sighed.

######################

"So, why didn't you go to school today," Jon asked as he stared through binoculars, watching the door of a bar across the street below. Mark and Jon lay on their bellies on the roof, ducking their heads down as people passed by. The roof of the two story building was a mess of splintered wood and holes, and Mark was surprised they hadn't plummeted into the building. The area of town they were in was rough and the people hard: a mix of prostitutes, drug addicts and lifelong criminals. It was always the type of place you could find demons lurking. The street lights flickered on as night began to settle and Mark blinked in the sudden light.

"Nothing is worse than going through high school twice. Thank god for the GED even though I will never use it," Mark replied.

"Did you hear?" Jon asked.

"Hear what?"

"Those demons in the warehouses that Sean was tracking. Gone, dead actually. Just a great big pile of dust. You think there are other devil hunters in town?" Jon pondered.

"Cyrus would have told us if there were. Probably was killed by another demon," Mark replied.

"Do you miss her?"

"Who?"

Jon grinned still staring at the door of the bar. "Your demon girlfriend. "

"Stop screwing with me man," Mark sighed. The truth is, he had thought about her all day from the moment he woke up next to Rose, to striking out on the hunt with Jon. And as he waited for the demon to reveal itself, he could only imagine Persephone staring down the barrel of his gun. The door of the bar swung open and a young woman in a short black dress stumbled out on the arm of a man dressed in an overly expensive suit. She giggled and pulled him along down the street. Behind them, a young woman with her black hood up walked out. Selene furtively pointed towards the couple and mouthed the words "It's them."

"Show time," Mark said and he and Jon carefully made their way from the roof by climbing down the shaky and rusty fire escape. The young woman pulled the man onto a darkened street , one where the lights had been blown out long ago. Selene had already disappeared, heading down an alley to hopefully circle around the couple. Mark grabbed the pistol at his hip and quietly released the safety before following down the street after the couple, motioning for Jon to go around the other way. It was too dark to see properly, but he could still hear the woman giggle and man speaking to her in a low voice.

"Come on baby, let me see you," the man said.

"Not yet. I have some friends so we can have some fun," the woman giggled. The couple arrived at an intersection with one streetlight flickering pathetically over their grasping bodies. They stopped and the woman threw her arms around the man's neck.

"This is where you want to go? Out in the open?" the man asked.

"Oh no one will care. Besides , I want you to see us. It makes things more exciting," the woman said and Mark heard a low growl.

"Let him go," Mark said, aiming his gun at the couple.

The man threw up his hands and there was a hiss from the shadows.

"Hey, man. Take whatever you want," the man said. The woman stared at Mark coolly, cocking her head to the side, regarding him with cold eyes.

"Just step away from her," Mark said.

"Just one of you," the woman pouted, but the expression never reached her eyes. Mark knew the look all too well. Devil eyes were flat, looking out towards the world in the gaze of a pure disregard. They were dead inside and out, with no motivation except the inexplicable need to bring misery.

"Sir, get away from her," Mark said calmly, keeping his eyes on the woman. Another growl erupted from the shadows and the man screamed and huddled to the ground.

"Did you want to see my friends?" she asked Mark her face suddenly gaunt and pale. A demon leapt out of the shadows behind her, snapping its wolf-like jaws together, its leathery skin glinting the street light. A single shot rang out from the left and demon shrieked and hit the ground. The woman spun around and cried out and two growls answered , jumping from the roof of a nearby building. Mark saw Selene step out and fire two bullets into the nearest demon as the other spun to face her. The woman took off down the street as Mark fired his gun, the bullet grazing her arm.

"Jon, take care of the last one. I've got her," he shouted, dodging past the remaining demon and running down the street after the woman. He could hear several gun shots behind him as he ran, but he kept his eyes on the retreating form of the demon. She turned quickly and ran down an alley and Mark followed, halting when he realized they had hit a dead end. The woman pressed her hands against the brick wall and gave it a futile shove before turning to face him. Her mouth pulled into a sneer before suddenly becoming soft and meek.

"Do you really want to hurt me? I'm just a woman," she sobbed softly, raising her hands in surrender. Though tears streamed down her face, her eyes studied him with cold calculation. She had performed this trick a million times before.

"I haven't done anything, but you're going to kill me," she said. The woman's hair caught the light, appearing white for just a moment. But that moment was enough, and he saw Persephone standing in front of him with her arms raised. A demon, perfectly imitating the image of a woman. Mark felt his finger hesitate on the trigger and the woman smiled slightly, sensing it.

"I know a demon when I see it," Mark said and fired once, hitting the woman between the eyes. Thick green blood gushed out through the hole and she slumped to the ground, already dissolving into dust. In the darkness, he saw Persephone staring back at him and he wondered if he had missed it. Somewhere in that disarming smile, had he missed the cold, dead gaze of the demon staring back?

##############################

Persephone tripped again, and landed hard against the trunk of a tree. She leaned back and inhaled deeply, trying to organize her thoughts. Though she turned multiple times in an attempt to make her path hard to follow, she would catch the sounds of them in the distance, not even trying to be quiet as they hunted her. She peered behind her and nearly kicked herself. Clearly defined in the soft earth, was a footprint, an easy trail of breadcrumbs for them to follow. Quickly, she tore off her black, mary jane shoes and muddy socks and shoved them into the bag. She wiggled her toes in the dirt before standing up.

If there was a lesson in this activity, she was having a hard time discovering it. All she felt was panic and she knew they would find her no matter how far she ran. She didn't even know which way the car or the road was and twilight was approaching. _I need to get higher. _Standing in the bushes and trekking through the mud was only leaving a trail for them to follow. She looked up, grabbed a low hanging branch, and swung her way up, landing easily on her feet. She jumped to a higher branches until she was near the top of the canopy.

She started climbing from branch to branch, watching the ground closely for any movement. There was only the gentle hum of cicadas emerging for the evening and the occasion piercing screech of a bird. She came to a large gap in the trees and jumped from the large branch she was perched upon to a smaller one which snapped under her weight. Persephone bit her lip to keep from crying out as she fell, grasping for a hand hold. Her hand hit another branch hard and she gripped it tightly to halt her fall. The broken branch hit the ground with a crash and she held perfectly still, dangling from one arm.

A silvery dagger whizzed past her face and embedded in the trunk of the tree beside her before shattering into a thousand pieces like glass. She quickly pulled herself up onto the branch and climbed higher, keeping clear of the leaves to avoid making a sound. She listened closely and heard a rustle in the distance that seemed to move away from her and grow silent.

She realized that she could continue lurking, but eventually would make another mistake. The dagger had been a warning, but once they knew her exact location, they would strike. She could either remain unprepared or meet them head on. As she crouched on a branch, she examined the contents of her bag and what was on her person. The end of the yellow sash fell across her leg and she smiled as a plan sprung to mind.

Dante stepped into a small clearing, straining to hear any noise. The leaves rustled lightly in the breeze to create a gentle background hum. His eyes scanned the trees for the telltale signs: the snapped branch, the unhidden limb. The quiet was unnerving; he knew his niece wasn't that adept at silence.

Slowly, he moved on from the clearing, stepping through a brambled bush that tugged at the edges of his coat. A thin layer of leaves crackled under his foot and he cringed slightly with the sudden noise. He heard a soft rustle behind him and turned around.

"Hey," Persephone smiled. She knelt on the ground, her knee buried in the dirt. Her face was slightly strained as she shifted uncomfortable in her spot.

"Give up? You look nervous," Dante laughed and reached for his sword.

"Not really," Persephone shrugged and stood up. Springing out from under her knee, her sword shot like a rocket past Dante's head with a streak of yellow streaming behind it. Persephone waved and that's when he felt the tightening of the sash around his ankle and he looked down. A yellow ring encircled his foot and he cursed as the devil arm pulled him up, slamming his back into the ground before carrying him off into the trees. The branches slapped his face as he flew by until he stopped suddenly, face first into the trunk of a tree.

He looked up and followed the yellow sash to where it was tied to hilt of Persephone's silver blade. Next to it, embedded deep into a leafy branch, was its partner sword. Despite the slight headache forming, he had to give her props for creative use of her weapon. With a flash of plaid, Persephone was perched on a branch above him, staring gleefully down.

"Give up? You look nervous," she mocked.

"Funny," he said, twisting slightly, his red coat hanging down around him. "Get me down."

"Whatever you say," Persephone sighed. She carefully stepped onto the silver blade that bent slightly with her weight. She took the end of the yellow sash in one hand and pulled and Dante fell towards the ground. He twisted easily and landed on his feet, quickly looking up only to find that she was gone. He heard a single crack and barely had time to shield his face before a large branch swung down and struck him from above. He landed hard against the base of a tree and stared up into the canopy, hearing a single mocking giggle. He stayed on the ground for a while before groaning and sitting up.

"Why are you down there?" he heard behind him and sighed.

"Well, Vergil. She's smarter than me," Dante said calmly.

"Get up, she can't be far," Vergil said.

"She's in the canopy," Dante replied and stood up. Vergil was already in the air, jumping from branch to branch looking for her. He moved quickly watching for any sign of movement. Suddenly, he stopped, coming to a wall of branches woven across into a blockade. He laughed at her attempt to capture him and quickly sliced through with Yamato, sending the branches scattering in pieces to the ground. Swiftly, he climbed through and stepped onto a large branch. The wood snapped under his weight and he fell through. He calmly looked down for his landing spot when he heard a crash from above.

A clawed foot connected to his chest and sent him tumbling through the air. His back hit a thick branch and he twisted to grab it, halting his fall. Before he could blink, a glint of silver caught his eye and he twisted just in time to miss Persephone's downward arc. Her black eyes met his for a heartbeat before she flipped backwards and disappeared into the trees. Vergil swung himself onto the branch he was holding and readied himself for another attack.

He could hear her crashing around in the canopy, and would catch brief glimpses of blue and black flipping through the branches like a demonic gymnast. It was always too much noise to pinpoint exactly where she was coming from and he could only follow rather than get ahead. The back of his neck tingled and he twisted to the side as Persephone appeared behind him, stabbing forward with both blades. She flew past him easily and sliced off the branch he was standing on before somersaulting and again, climbing off into the canopy. He smirked slightly, piecing together her plan.

Vergil pushed off the trunk of the tree he was leaning on and jumped to another branch. Persephone crashed through the trees, circling him in a chaos of noise. Then it grew silent for just a moment and he readied himself. The slightest noise below him pricked his ears and he jumped down, spotting Persephone's demonic face below him. She only blinked as he twisted and slammed both knees into her shoulders. She fell like a rock towards the ground and barely broke her fall with a sloppily executed roll. As she stumbled, Vergil drew Yamato and in a flash had the blade at her throat and her back against a tree. She snarled slightly before dropping her devil form to glare at him with blue eyes.

"I thought I had you," she said and slowly pushed his blade away with one finger.

"I've been doing this for a long time. You will never be able to defeat your father," he said and pulled away, sheathing Yamato in one smooth motion. "But that was smart plan. Guiding me then trying to break my footing, but I'm a little too sure footed for that."

"So did I pass this little lesson?" she asked as she pulled a thin sliver out of the bottom of her foot. Vergil stared at his daughter, the dirt on her knees, the small trickle of blood down her calf and the smear of mud below her eye. She looked tired as she examined her battered feet, but then she smiled at some private revelation and everything changed. Persephone stood up straight and stared at him, her smile fading into a single piercing gaze, and Vergil was struck silent by the realization that she looked exactly like his father. Power seemed to radiate from her slight form and she was no longer the child he had protected all these years.

"You're ready," he said, shocked by the softness in his voice. Persephone tilted her head.

"What?"

"You're ready, Persephone. You're ready to hunt demons," he repeated. "I can teach you a million ways to swing your swords, but I only fighting them will teach you how to use it."

There was a long moment of silence as her eyes seemed to search for something in the distant recesses of her mind. Then she smiled softly and nodded. For the first time ever, Vergil realized she wouldn't always need him and one day, she may even surpass him.

"You know I totally strung uncle Dante up. I think that deserves a leadership position," she said with a laugh.

"And I will remember that for your upcoming birthday," Dante said as he walked up to where they were standing, watching the ground carefully. "Now can we go? My ego is hurting a little."

################################

When Persephone got home, she wearily climbed into the shower then into bed. She couldn't shake the image of her father staring at her in the forest, his gaze struggling between relief and sadness. Tears pricked at her eyes as she stared at her ceiling and she realized that he wasn't ready to let her go. What she should have told him, was that she would always need her father to guide her through this world.

She closed her eyes, her mind still contemplating the past few weeks and she smiled. The overwhelming feelings of discovering her origins were gone and for once, she felt that she had a handle on the situation. What the future would hold, she had no idea, but at least for moment, she was again in balance. Mark's brown eyes stared at her from the depths of her memories and she felt a flutter anticipation. Maybe she could have it all: love, a normal life and the demonic one. Or perhaps, just a night with an attractive guy who wanted to be with her.

Persephone slept hard, dreaming only of darkness. Her mother had to wake her up with a gentle shake of her shoulder. Persephone threw her flattened curls into a ponytail and changed into another uniform, her torn and dirty one still on the bathroom floor. After brushing her teeth, she walked down the stairs feeling surprisingly rested. She smiled as she remembered her father's words then grinned wider when she remembered her plans for the night.

Her mother was standing at the counter assembling sandwiches for the day. She nodded her head towards the stove and Persephone walked over and spooned herself a bowl of rice pudding and sat down with her brothers who were already inhaling breakfast. Her father stepped into the room and sniffed the air before frowning.

"I hate raisins," he said. Her mother just raised an eyebrow.

"Oh dear, if only you were an adult who could cook his own breakfast," she sighed and tucked a red curl behind her ear before closing the brown paper lunch bags.

"This is thanks I get for saving the world," her father responded with a blank face. He grabbed his wife around the waist and stole a quick kiss before sitting down at the table and frowning at the boys.

"Boys, don't shovel your food. I raised you specifically not to be your uncle, don't disappoint me," their father grumbled and the boys quickly straightened up and held their spoons properly. Her father turned his critical gaze to her and Persephone pretended to be occupied with her breakfast.

"So I was wondering, since I have been doing so well, if I could spend some time with Jane tonight?" she asked quickly, bracing herself for a sharp no. Her mother shrugged as she sat down at the breakfast table.

"I don't see why not," she replied.

"Absolutely not. You're coming with us to hunt tonight," her father answered, challenging his wife.

"Excuse me, coming with you? You did not tell me about this when I asked you about how your night was," her mother snapped.

"Why should I consult you? I'm the hunter," he replied and Persephone watched her mother's jaw tense as the demonic essence thrashed about in her eyes.

"Pardon me, but I am the one who nearly died bringing her into this world, I think I have a say in when you get to risk her life. Or did you forget?" she said through gritted teeth.

"Wait. You nearly died?" Persephone asked.

Her mother turned towards her. "It's a long and messy story not suited for the breakfast table. But your birth was a little traumatic and involved shooting a nun."

Caleb let out a short bark of laughter and Persephone merely returned her gaze to her breakfast.

"Vergil, she can have a night to herself so we can discuss this," her mother said, returning her eyes to her husband.

"Training Persephone is the most important thing," he shot back.

Caleb leaned back and crossed his arms. "I guess Gabe and I don't count as important anymore."

Vergil blinked as if just remembering the boys were still sitting there. They frowned at their father with identical expressions of disappointment.

"Did you forget you have other children," their mother laughed. "Spend some time with the boys. You 've been focusing way too much on Persephone."

"What am I supposed to do with them?" he asked and Persephone caught the slightest hint of actual confusion and giggled.

"You know, bonding. Something fathers are supposed to do so that we stay away from drugs," Gabriel answered.

"I guess I could hang out with you two," their father answered slowly, eyeing the boys like they were aliens.

"For god's sake, Vergil. I swear you are getting denser and denser. Take the boys out, show them some cool sword tricks," their mother sighed with exasperation and turned towards Persephone. "You can hang out with Jane tonight."

"Ok, she'll come pick me up," Persephone said with a smile, giddy at her own deceit. She realized how much she missed seeing him. A little alone time is just what she needed after a night of running through the woods.

"Ok, so I am going to your place tonight and he is going to pick me up from there and drop me back off," Persephone said to Jane as they walked to their next class after lunch. The hallway was nearly full to bursting as they made their way through, scheming in low voices.

###############################

"So your parents don't have a clue?" Jane said and waved at another student walking by.

"Not a clue and it's going to stay that way," Persephone said with a pointed glance.

"Of course. I don't want your dad coming after me. What did you bring to wear?" Jane asked. Persephone groaned.

"I totally forgot an outfit," she said and stopped at her locker.

"That's ok. I've got plenty. It'll probably be baggy in the chest, but not all of us can be blessed," Jane said with a laugh.

"You are such a bitch. Ok, I've got chemistry then literature then I will meet you at your car," Persephone said as she grabbed her book and shut her locker.

"Got it, sweetie. Just call me your wing man," Jane said and skipped off down another hallway. Persephone continued walking and entered her classroom, sighing lightly when she realized he wouldn't be there. But a note sat on her stool which simply said "See you soon." Briefly, she wondered what her mother and father would think of him. She knew her classmates were bewildered at the valedictorian spending time with the slacker, but her family was…unconventional. When your father nearly destroyed the world, it wasn't much of a bar to surpass. Mark was smart, clever, enigmatic if only just a little rough around the edges. Despite her polished exterior, she was internally a mess. They were two outsiders that met at just the right time. Sam's voice pulled her from her reverie.

"So, are you actually dating that guy Mark?" Sam asked, turning around on his stool, his face a mask of disbelief.

Persephone shrugged. "I guess you could say that."

"Why?" he asked and Persephone felt a sharp pang of anger through her chest. The demon stirred anxiously, not enjoying the challenge.

"Sam, we're friend, but not close. I don't think that is any of your business," Persephone replied just as their teacher walked in, speaking quickly. She turned her attention to him and the lesson for the day.

Class went by quickly with her mind distracted and she nearly jumped out of her seat when the bell rang. She quickly left the classroom to avoid Sam and smiled when she spotted Mark leaning against the wall with his long legs stretched out in front of him and uniform jacket unbuttoned to reveal a rumpled shirt.

"Hey," she called and he looked up. He smoothed back his dark hair as he stood up straight. "Are you feeling better?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Well, it was more like I was feeling bad about not doing any of my homework."

She looked up and into his eyes and he stared steadily back at her, his gaze unwavering. She watched them search her face as if he expected she was hiding something.

"Everything ok?" she asked and waved a hand over her face.

"Yeah. I just missed seeing your face," he responded. "So tonight we're going out. Meet me at my car or should I pick you up from your house?"

"No," Persephone said sharply, nearly shouting. He gave her an odd look and she felt a blush creep up her neck. "I have to go with Jane to finish up a thing. So…you will pick me up from her house. I'll text you her address."

"This seems a little suspicious," he said, and Persephone had to duck her head to hide her face. She invoked her father's spirit and assembled a blank expression.

"No need to think that. Homework just comes first to overachievers," she said and quickly sent a message to him with Jane's address. "I'll see you in a few hours."

Persephone turned and walked away and Mark watched her retreating form simultaneous wishing he could reach out and touch her and push her away. He wanted her more and more with every look she gave him with those blue eyes. The memory of the demon he killed the night before sprung to mind with its dead eyes staring at him and he cringed as he suddenly imagined putting a bullet through Persephone's head, her eyes filled with grief.

Mark growled and quickly stormed from the school, the press of students too much for him as if any one of them could be another devil in disguise. He felt dizzy and leaned against the wall of the exterior as his stomach began to churn. No matter how he tried, he couldn't see a demon in her and dreaded being alone with her. Not because he was worried for his safety, but because he didn't want it to be true. He didn't want to find the demon he was searching for. The thought that he was somehow tricked and was the under the enchantment of some demon meant nothing to him. He wanted her to be a human so that he wouldn't have to be the one to lead her to her death. The image of Cyrus standing over her with his blade sent his stomach rolling and he heaved the contents of stomach into the grass. It was all just too complicated and the price too high if he made a mistake.

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><p><em><strong>Woot! Thanks for reading. RR please. Peace!<br>**_


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